Clips & Articles: Music
I review the Seattle and Portland operas, and smaller opera companies, for Portland-based Oregon ArtsWatch and Artslandia, and for Classical Voice North America, the official web site of the Music Critics Association of North America, of which I am a member. I write about classical, chamber and jazz music for Oregon ArtsWatch, Classical Voice North America, and previously, for Oregon Music News, concertonet.com and Northwest Reverb. For more stories and music reviews, check the archives at www.columbian.com between 1995-2006. My 2005 National Endowment for the Arts and Columbia Journalism grant helped immensely in music coverage.
Sunshine and Ink
Two Voices Swell Onto Opera Scene
Originally Published in Classical Voice North America August 2018
More often than not, he plays the villains (Méphistophélès in Faust) and the weirdos (Bluebeard in Bluebeard’s Castle). She portrays the vulnerable tragic heroines (Violetta, Mimi, Marguerite). Read More
‘Porgy and Bess’ review: Catfish Row Northwest
Seattle Opera’s elaborate new production complements Gershwin’s American classic
Originally Published in Oregon ArtsWatch August 2018
The stars, and there were several, could have carried Seattle Opera’s Porgy and Bess. But they didn’t have to. Conceived by Francesca Zambello, the production was spot-on in so many ways—emotionally attuned, musically uplifting, edgily designed and lit— that there was no need for the fine singers, several on the rise, to work overtime. Read More
Willamette Valley Chamber Music Festival: in vino violins
August concert series mixes listening and tasting in wine country
Originally Published in Oregon ArtsWatch August 2018
Pinot noir and salmon surely make a felicitous match, yet imagine an even happier marriage: Ludwig van Beethoven’s String Quartet Op. 59 No. 2 paired with J. Christopher Wines’ 2016 “Lumiere” Pinot Noir. Read More
Chamber Music Northwest review: unexpected stars
Young performers and composer supply the spark in festival's opening concerts
Originally Published in Oregon ArtsWatch July 2018
If you think jazz and marching-band musicians are the sole owners of the johnny-come-late instrument developed in the mid-1800s by Belgian Adolphe Sax, you’re not hearing enough saxophone music. Read More
Growing Voices
Founded by a pair of Oregon opera stars, VOXnorthwest Voice Studio gives young singers a recipe for success
Originally Published in Oregon ArtsWatch June 2018
“I’m not feeling the high note now,” says Karsten George, shaking his head while rehearsing at Portland State University’s Lincoln Hall one late-May afternoon. Read More
‘Aida’ and ‘Rigoletto’: lush Verdi
Portland and Seattle productions' opulence and timelessness overcome oft-staged operas’ overfamiliarity
Originally Published in Oregon ArtsWatch May 2018
Two stunning Giuseppe Verdi operas in one West Coast weekend are a treat, unless grandeur is not your thing. Read More
Lots of spark
Carolyn Kuan – Portland Opera: Toi Toi Toi
Originally Published in artslandia May 2018
Artslandia’s conversation with barrier-busting conductor Carolyn Kuan, who’ll lead Portland Opera’s production of La Cenerentola this season, reveals our good fortune that she couldn’t settle on which instrument to play. Read More
Cécile (McLorin Salvant) review: first-name basis
Rising jazz vocalist draws deep admiration and girl crushes from female Portland jazz singers
Originally Published in Oregon ArtsWatch May 2018
She is the It Girl among jazz vocalists. Her singing has it all: perfect pitch, a range from tenor to high soprano, precise articulation, full-on emotion, playfulness, varying timbres. Read More
‘Albert Herring’ review: keeping it fresh
Portland State University production overcomes the challenges posed by Benjamin Britten’s mid-20th century opera
Originally Published in Oregon ArtsWatch April 2018
British composer Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring is a challenging opera for both performers and audiences accustomed to the usual Romantic classics. Though funny, it proved a serious undertaking for the Portland State University Opera this week at Lincoln Performance Hall. Read More
Grownup stories; Mercury rising
Courtney Freed's tribute to Freddie Mercury and Rosalinde Block's "grownup" tales explore the possibilities of the solo show
Originally Published in Oregon ArtsWatch April 2018
Something poignant resonated from the one-woman musicals Don’t Stop Me Now and Drama of the Gifted Grownup that appeared recently in Portland. Read More