The Passion of Opera

This was my first time attending Beethoven's Missa Solemnis  in a live performance, a work so often overshadowed by the Beethoven's Sympthony No. 9 , not only throughout history, but on the very night the two premiered simultaneously. Once again, Anne Midgette of the Washington Post offers an insightful review that focuses a great deal on the nature of the work itself; I will focus more on the performance. General information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missa_solemnis_(Beethoven) Missa solemnis | Ludwig van Beethoven Soprano | Julia Sophie Wagner Mezzo-Soprano | Daniela Mack Tenor | Vale Rideout Bass | Kevin Thompson Violin | Nurit Bar-Josef Conductor | Julian Wachner Washington Chorus & Orchestra Presented in the Concert Hall of the Kennedy Center ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The ensemble for the evening was led by Julian Wachner, who conducted with an eco...

First, I apologize for the long hiatus in posts. I have not had much opportunity to see live opera since being back at Lawrence University in Wisconsin and in Arlington, Virginia. The conclusion of my schooling did offer a few of the previous scholarly posts. Now, however, being in Washington, D.C., more actual reviews will be forthcoming. I will be seeing Beethoven's Missa Solemnis  this weekend and will post on that shortly, as well. In the meantime, a review of Washington National Opera's  La boh è me at the Kennedy Center. This was my first time at the Kennedy Center opera house and I was surprised how small it is. All in all, that's really not a bad thing, just surprising for such a key performing space in the United States. I will write my own review, but Anne Midgette's November 2 review in the Washington Post  was spot on, so I've included a link here:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/at-wno-a-la-boheme-that-gets-the-job-done/2014/11/...