Opera Review: The Queen of Stage

With this superb new Adriana Lecouvereur, the Met finally gets it right.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Anna Netrebko (top) lashes out at her rival in Act III of Adriana Lecouvereur.
Photo by Ken Howard © 2019 The Metropolitan Opera.

Francesco Cilea is remembered for one opera: Adriana Lecouvereur. A frothy combination of backstage infighting and murderous romantic triangle, Adriana is only revived when a star diva decides to take on the steep challenges of the title role. On New Year's Eve 2018, the Metropolitan Opera and Anna Netrebko unveiled their new Adriana in a handsome, traditional production by Sir David McVicar that surrounded the Russian soprano with an all-star cast. Set entirely on a unit stage with a rotating theater-within-a-theater, Sir David solved some of the scenic challenges of this work and did it in a coherent and well-managed manner, just as he has done with so many operas at the Met in this decade.

Time is Illusion: Life, Death and Superconductor

A holiday reflection on the year that was.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

George Michael, 1963-2016

I've had a lot of deaths in my life, of family, friends, and people close to me. My father died on Feb. 11 1985. My uncle on Nov. 19 1999. My mother on March 8 2005. I used to obsess about these dates like I was living in perpetual Lent. A  smartfew years ago, my very therapist pointed out to me that because of leap days every four years, what actual day I was mourning had shifted by one or two or three. That got me thinking about the nature of time and the death of George Michael yesterday was the impetus of this post.

Cataclysmic Concerts: The Best of 2012

The year in concerts, recitals and chamber music.

by Paul J. Pelkonen

Some say the world will end with fire. But this didn't actually happen either.
Image from The Day After Tomorrow © 2004 Centropolis Entertainment/20th Century Fox. 

With the exception of a certain often-mentioned iPhone alarm (that disrupted a Jan. 11 concert by the New York Philharmonic) there weren't too many in-concert disasters in 2012.  Or maybe I spent the whole year going to the wrong performances?

Here is a "dozen sampler" of shows that stood out in 2012, from avant-garde chamber works to a unique walk in a freezing cold garden of song. This is  part of our ongoing Year in Reviews series here on Superconductor. 

Berlin Philharmonic: The "completed" Bruckner Ninth at Carnegie Hall.

"The questions asked by the descending opening theme of the first movement are answered by a dissonant, raging theme from the trumpets and horns. The whole is expressed in a gigantic double fugue over a thick texture of strings. Sir Simon Ratle and his orchestra poured themselves into this music."

San Francisco Symphony: American Mavericks

"Michael Tilson Thomas chopped fruits and vegetables, preparing a smoothie with the blender. He added a banana, and tasted it again. Eventually, he added some blocks and stones to the piano, playing tonal clusters on the strings. (Later, another musician tried the smoothie.)"

aron quartett at the Austrian Cultural Forum

"The aron quartett played the four movements with grit and earnest, with long melodic lines that unfolded from instrument to instrument. Plucked, scraped notes alternated with winding themes tossed from player to player in a performance that made a good case for more New York performances of Erich Zeisl's catalogue."

Dropping the Ball for 2012

Happy New Year from Superconductor.

The Times Square ball, with unidentified man in fedora.
Photo from the New York Public Library.

By Paul Pelkonen.

Yes, here it is, the annual Superconductor New Year's post, written in my Brooklyn sidewalk window-seat at 8am as the sun comes up over the east side of Sunset Park and the annual Honeymooners marathon plays in the background.

2011 was a banner year for Superconductor. Almost 500 posts--150 of them live reviews of performances. Our news coverage and news gathering expanded. Relations improved with arts organizations, record labels, and opera companies, both in and outside of New York. That's all well and good.

But the biggest improvement was from you, the reader--who discovered a high-speed version of classical music coverage, decided you liked my writing, and stayed.

Thanks!

For 2012, I resolve to keep bringing you the same, or better level of music coverage, from the concerts of the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra and Philadelphia Orchestra to operas viewed from a high perch in the Family Circle of the Metropolitan Opera. (Look for me on Monday nights--that's when I have my subscription.)

There are more Recordings Reviews and DVD Reviews planned, along with features that you all seem to like: the Short List, the Metropolitan Opera Preview, the Gift Guide, and (provided we don't get hit by an asteroid on December 21) the Year in Reviews. (For the record, I think the Mayan prophecy stuff is a bunch of humbug.)

Humbug, I tell you. Humbug!

This year, I'd like to start doing more interviews and features on the blog page. There is also the possibility of multi-media expansion if I ever figure out the technology. An online radio station? A podcast? The presidency of EMI Classics? (That last one looks doubtful.)

Finally, I also resolve (as I have done each year for the last three years: 

• to make every effort to continue running a daily publication.
• to be visible on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and elsewhere.
• to keep the coverage real, honest, and objective, with the exception of the occasional excursions into comedy writing.
• to continue to make those excursions. Readers seem to like them. 
• to hear, see, and write about as much music as possible.
• to make this the best classical music blog that I can create with two hands.

See you out there.

Paul Pelkonen.

Editor, Superconductor.