“I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity.” –Edgar Allen Poe “The Raven” is one of Poe’s most famous and recognized works. It has been turned into parody poems, comic books, cartoons, several films (including a 2012 thriller depicting …Read more
The Japanese atmosphere of the lovely Kitano Hotel faded away as the Libby York Quartet took to the stage Wednesday evening. A timeless jazz club suddenly appeared out of the Asian mist. York, elegantly dressed in black, dazzled. The performance was …Read more
A dancer approaches the audience and asks them to give the dancers their shoes. After a brief pause, the shoes are removed, delivered and placed on the stage. The dancers ignore them at first, then pick them up, dance with them, trade with one anothe …Read more
Two wildly different one-act operas, “The Wanton Sublime” and “The Companion”, premiered at Brooklyn’s Roulette space on Tuesday evening, performed by the American Modern Ensemble and American Opera Projects, and presented by Ear Heart Music. “The Wa …Read more
“Two days before Christmas, I only want one thing. Peace on earth and a Superbowl ring.” So sings Bum in “Bum Phillips All-American Opera”, kicking off at La MaMa and presented by Monk Parrots, a non-profit group that seeks to cultivate “new audience …Read more
Noah Preminger is old enough to be called a master of the saxophone and still young enough to know there are dimensions in the instrument he has not yet found, leaving room for the thrill of the unexpected. His seasoned quartet seems to know one anot …Read more
It’s hard to imagine a voice more suited to classic jazz standards than that of Libby York. Listening to this throaty, laid-back chanteuse easing her way through “Take Me Back To Manhattan”, you can almost see the cigarette smoke and catch the aroma …Read more
“Art is the thrilling spark that beats death – that’s all.” Brett Whiteley With lamentations over the deaths of the Amato and the City Opera fading, LoftOpera has come along at just the right time. In its sterling production of Puccini’s “La Boheme”, …Read more
