Tonight at Carnegie Hall, the New York Pops closed out its 35th season with a concert featuring a selection of blockbuster film scores curated by music director and conductor Steven Reinke.
All in Notes
Tonight at Carnegie Hall, the New York Pops closed out its 35th season with a concert featuring a selection of blockbuster film scores curated by music director and conductor Steven Reinke.
Earlier this evening, The Great Hall at The Cooper Union provided an august and auspicious setting for MasterVoices’ presentation of “Our America”, an original concert celebration of the importance of immigrants and their contributions to the rich tapestry of American music.
"Subways Are for Sleeping", Jule Styne and Comden and Green's 1961 flop musical, triumphantly closed out the York Theatre Company's 3-musical "Musicals in Mufti" celebration of lesser-works by composer Jule Styne. Bizarre, but pure musical comedy joy, "Subways" contains several gem songs.
The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra’s debut concert at Carnegie Hall last night showcased the pulsating power and syncopated joy of percussion in a program featuring a heavy dose of Latin American flavor as part of Philip Glass’s residency as the 2017–2018 Composer’s Chair.
"Bar Mitzvah Boy" was the second offering in the York Theatre Company's annual "Musicals in Mufti" series dedicated to composer Jule Styne; not performed in New York since 1987, this sweet and charming musical received an excellent production using a 2016 revised book, but could benefit from some musical trimming.
The Philip Glass Ensemble returned to Carnegie Hall last night for the first time in a decade to present “Music with Changing Parts” (1970), an oft-overlooked and rarely performed early masterpiece from Mr. Glass’s prolific repertoire.
Tonight, the New York Pops gloriously kicked off Black History month and blew the roof off Carnegie Hall with "Heart and Soul", a joyful concert in tribute to the greatest voices in R&B featuring guest vocalists Capathia Jenkins and James Monroe Iglehart.
Jule Styne, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green's 1968 Tony Winning Best Musical "Hallelujah, Baby!", now largely forgotten, receives an excellent concert production as part of the York Theatre Company's annual "Musicals in Mufti" series, which is dedicated to composer Jule Styne this year.
Thirty years ago tonight, on January 26, 1988, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hit musical "The Phantom of the Opera" opened at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway; on Wednesday night, I attended the special 30th anniversary gala performance.
On New Year's Eve, the Met Opera premiered a new "Tosca" in a bid for redemption following a controversial 2009 production of this Puccini classic; director Sir David McVicar and designer John Macfarlane deliver beauty and grandeur, and singers Sonya Yoncheva and Vittorio Gregorio are energetic and radiant. This is a must see for the opera fan or those interested in the form.
There's lots of great holiday-themed entertainment in the city, from the New York Pops' holiday concert to the New York City Ballet's "The Nutcracker" and the "Radio City Christmas Spectacular". Check out this short guide for some ideas.
The Metropolitan Opera launched its 2017-2018 season in September with a new production of Vincenzo Bellini’s “Norma” directed by Sir David McVicar. I caught a performance of this 1831 bel canto masterpiece on Friday night; two more chances remain, this evening at 7:30pm and Saturday, December 16th at 1pm.