Arts Fuse Editor

Opera Album Review: Before “Carmen,” There Was Massenet’s Spanish-Tinged “Don César de Bazan”

January 24, 2021
Posted in , , , ,

World premiere recording of an utterly delicious 1872 comic opera, recorded without spoken dialogue, so you can just revel in the music and the singing.

Opera Feature: Should We Be Updating Operas So They Address Present-Day Issues?

January 22, 2021
Posted in , , , ,

Philip Glass’s librettist Arthur Yorinks offers his thoughts on whether and how to update an opera as the Boston Lyric Opera releases its revamped and filmed version of The Fall of the House of Usher.

Film Review: “Breaking Fast”– The Romantic Life, Among Gay Muslims

January 22, 2021
Posted in , ,

Films like Breaking Fast introduce audiences to cultures that they may not be familiar with — that they may even be hostile to — but through conflicts and dreams that are universal, that revolve around family, love, and friendship.

Listening During Covid, Part 4: Fascinating Vocal Adventures from Different Times and Places

January 21, 2021
Posted in , , , ,

I may be in quarantine, but music can transport me back to the Middle Ages, or to the court of Catherine the Great of Russia, or, via Donizetti, to an imagined India.

Film Review: “Azizler” (aka Stuck Apart) — Trapped Again

January 20, 2021
Posted in , ,

Azizler is a slow burn; unfortunately, the payoff isn’t worth the wait.

Theater Review: “The Race” — Business as Unusual

January 19, 2021
Posted in , ,

This is a very effective political drama, a relevant warning about what social critic Chris Hedges calls the formation of “corporate totalitarianism.”

Arts Remembrance: Phil Spector

January 19, 2021
Posted in , ,

The late Phil Spector once famously referred to his songs as “little symphonies for the kids.”

Book Review: “Freak Out! My Life with the Mothers of Invention” — Intimate Observations

January 19, 2021
Posted in , ,

Fans of Frank Zappa who want to know about Frank the man as well as Zappa the musical and political icon would be wise to seek out Freak Out!

Book Review: Yang Jisheng’s “The World Turned Upside Down”

January 19, 2021
Posted in , , ,

Those who admire Yang Jisheng’s distinguished career should pick up this book. Those searching for a solid, accessible history of Mao’s Cultural Revolution should look elsewhere.

Film Commentary: “Nomadland” and Freedom’s Call — A Realistic Look at a Growing Subculture

January 18, 2021
Posted in , ,

Director Chloé Zhao evokes the refreshing experience of freedom felt at the end of a nomad’s typical work day.

Recent Posts

Popular Posts

Categories

Archives