Music
This collector is happy to have Luis Russell: At the Swing Cats Ball with all its faults.
What emerged was a lithe, almost Shakespearean rendition, complete with moments of unexpected humor and an infectious dramatic vitality.
Festival of American Song Records has released an elegant, touching performance of the totally delightful half-hour long “Picnic Cantata.”
Brimming with edge-of-seat intensity and fist-waving theatricality, Julia Wolfe’s oratorio “Her Story” is the unequivocal highlight of the current BSO season.
The overall thesis of this short book/long essay is that both Charles Dickens and Prince embody a certain kind of rare genius combined with a freakishly inexhaustible work ethic.
James McMurtry’s Facebook page describes him as “Steadily Shedding Fans Since 1989.”
Aside from English pronunciation issues, the singers put over this remarkably polished and attractive opera by one of England’s great seventeenth-century composers with great panache, matching the superb instrumentalists.
“We take the audience on a journey that’s not part of a traditional approach to opera.”
Even more impressive than the sheer amount of raw knowledge Bill Janovitz puts on display is the way he expertly elaborates on Leon Russell’s familiar resume highlights to create a full, three-dimensional portrait of a very complicated artist (and person).
The 11-piece group frontloaded its 90-minute set for immediate impact, answering the biggest challenge — replacing the vocal charisma of David Byrne — with a communal approach.
Fest Review: IFFBoston Shorts — Part One