Concert and opera reviews from Southern California.
The Pacific Symphony in Costa Mesa presented a concert staging of Verdi’s popular Rigoletto. The direction, by the Met’s staff director Kathleen Smith Belcher, is effective and generally faithful to the composer’s own staging instructions.
Read MoreThere is no better person to host the Bernstein birthday bash than the Pacific Symphony’s Music Director Carl St. Clair, who got to know Lenny personally as his protégé at Tanglewood in the 1980’s.
Read MoreWhen the 71-year-old pianist André Watts sat down to play, he immediately commanded attention by the sheer scale of the sound he produced – big, bold, effusive.
Read MoreIn the Pacific Symphony’s highly effective concert staging of “Turandot”, one clearly sensed a beating heart behind all the mise-en-scène spectacles, thanks to a most sympathetic conductor and a top-notch cast.
Read MoreWith the exception of Martha Argerich, there is no other living pianist I would rather hear play Rachmaninov than Olga Kern.
Read MoreCLASSICAL VOICE - Lifestyle Blog for Serious Classical Music and Opera Lovers
