Cincinnati Opera at Music Hall

Posted: May 2, 2003 - 8:25:45 PM in: news_2003

Cincinnati Opera has been in Music Hall for only 30 of its 73 years. For its first half-century the Opera performed at the Cincinnati Zoo, where singers sometimes had to compete with peacocks, seals, roaring lions and soaring heat. Announced in February, the Opera will expand its commitment to Music Hall with the establishment of the Corbett Opera Center, four-story headquarters for the company, in the north wing of the building.
- [Read more]

The Lady is 125

Posted: May 2, 2003 - 12:00:00 AM in: news_2003

Cincinnati's Music Hall inspires many things: mystery, awe, love. Drive past her at night, especially near Halloween, and you can feel the mystery. She was built over a 19th-century potter's field and human remains have been unearthed over the years. Music Hall's hulking facade, with its conical spires and huge rose window, is arresting any time of day. Her history will be celebrated with a 125th anniversary party May 7 at Music Hall. - [Read more]

Philip Glass' Symphony No. 5: From Chaos to Enlightenment

Posted: Apr 26, 2003 - 9:57:07 PM in: news_2003

Philip Glass

Philip Glass' Symphony No. 5, "Requiem, Bardo, Nirmanakaya," written in celebration of the Millennium, comprises texts from "every period and every continent," including the Bhagavad Gita, the Bible, Koran, Hawaiian Kumulipo and Chinese, Tibetan, Japanese, Native American and African sources. "These are thoughts that people have been having as long as you can remember," the composer says. At 100 minutes, with no intermission, it represents a cycle of creation from chaos to enlightenment. The massive work will receive its regional premiere in Corbett Auditorium at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music April 26. Performing will be the CCM Concert Orchestra, Chamber Choir and Chorale, Cincinnati Children's Choir and soloists conducted by Earl Rivers (first published in The Cincinnati Post April 25, 2003).
- [Read more]

Erkki-Sven Tüür's Exodus

Posted: Mar 27, 2003 - 12:00:00 AM in: news_2003

When composer Erkki-Sven Tüür was growing up in Estonia, he was like a bird in a cage. He could sing his own songs – as he did with his popular rock group In Spe ("In Hope") – but he could not fly off and enjoy the music of others. Estonia was part of the Soviet Union then. Travel outside the country was restricted, and Western contemporary music was not performed. "I couldn’t even visit my sister in Finland," said Tüür. "It was only after some years of Gorbachev’s perestroika that things started to change." Tüür’s first trip outside the Soviet Union was to Finland in 1988. He quickly made up for lost time.
- [Read more]

Paavo in Estonia

Posted: Mar 7, 2003 - 12:00:00 AM in: news_2003

Who can resist Santa Claus? Not Paavo Järvi, who got a great big hug from Robert Kasemägi after conducting the Estonian National Symphony in Pärnu, Estonia Feb. 20. Kasemägi, a former French horn player with the Estonian Opera Orchestra and an old friend of the Järvi family, used to dress up as Santa Claus for Neeme Järvi's children Paavo, Maarika and Kristjan. - [Read more]