The Passion of Opera

War Requiem | Benjamin Britten Soprano | Sabina Cvilak Tenor | Allan Clayton (In for the indisposed Andrew Kennedy) Baritone | Roderick Williams Conductor | Semyon Bychkov Off-Stage Conductor | James O'Donnell BBC Symphony Orchestra & Chorus Crouch End Festival Chorus Choristers of Westminster Abbey General information:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Requiem ___________________________________________________________________________________ My first exposure to Britten's War Requiem was last spring when Lawrence University's orchestra and choirs mounted a concert for the piece with professional soloists. That experience was particularly moving for me. We put a lot of work into that piece both musically and emotionally, and the result was stunning. Especially touching was the conductor's pause for 30 seconds at the end of the piece in silence. I preface this review with this for two reasons. One, it was wonderful to be able to finally s...

Versatility At War with Categorization: An Analysis of Singers Known for Singing in Multiple Fächer Introduction [1] Throughout human history categorization has been an incessant endeavor in such diverse disciplines as taxonomy, literature, and art. It has led to great advances, such as the mapping of the human genome, and to atrocities, such as the horrors committed in the name of race or religion. Inevitably tension underlays the process of categorization, as marginal data threatens to undermine the entire schematic. Categorization of singers’ voices, whether in the German system of Fächer or by less formal systems borne out of other nations, is essential to the vocal world. Repertory opera houses use the system to contract singers, singers themselves rely on guidelines for their own Fach in the selection of repertoire, and opera enthusiasts employ the categorizations to assess the attractiveness of performances and to review them. Nevertheless,...