By Alan Sherrod Performances reviewed: Friday evening, November 9; Sunday afternoon, November 11 When the opera La finta giardiniera (The Secret Gardener) premiered in Munich in 1775, its composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, was still two weeks shy of his…
Review: William Shaub and Friends Illuminate a Treasure of Baroque Gems in KSO’s Concertmaster Series
By Alan Sherrod Many Baroque composers are known for prolific output—J.S. Bach and G.F. Handel among them—but none so much as Antonio Vivaldi. His concerto output alone totals more than 500 works, yet none of these have been rewarded…
Review: John Orr Leads Knoxville Choral Society in Handel ‘Masterworks’
By Alan Sherrod Ask a classical music listener to describe the Baroque Period in music and a generic answer will invariably gravitate to two composer’s names—Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel. While the pair was born only a…
Review: ‘Nero Monologues’ from Sarah Toth and Marble City Opera
By Alan Sherrod The often curious intersection of art and history was discovered in South Knoxville last evening, as Marble City Opera offered its latest—a production created and performed by soprano Sarah Toth—Nero Monologues. The work, currently being staged…
First Friday at the Emporium and UT Downtown Gallery
There are a lot of notable openings on November’s First Friday. Here are two in the 100 block of S. Gay Street. At the Emporium (November 2 – 30) “The Familiar” — Eric Buechel (Main Gallery) This solo exhibition features…
This Weekend: Marble City Opera’s ‘Nero Monologues’ at Candoro Marble
By Alan Sherrod If you have attended any of Marble City Opera’s previous productions, you undoubtedly know that the company lives for performances in unusual and intriguing spaces that immerse the audience in an alternative music-theatre experience. Along the…
Review: Knoxville Opera’s Comedy Double Bill Exudes Cleverness and Charm
By Alan Sherrod While the overwhelming bulk of the operatic repertoire is devoted to tragic heroes, heroines, and villains, Knoxville Opera took a comic detour Friday evening in its season-opener, leaving no comedy stone unturned in its performance of…
Review: Violinist Bollinger Awes Audience In Tchaikovsky as KSO Triumphs in Shostakovich Fifth
By Alan Sherrod If there was ever a concerto that could send its audience into ecstasy with the conclusion of the first movement, it is certainly the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. Its extended rousing coda works its familiar magic on…
Preview: Knoxville Opera’s Comedy Double Bill — Mozart’s ‘The Impresario’ and Puccini’s ‘Gianni Schicchi’
By Alan Sherrod There are a lot of myths surrounding the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, but one thing that we know for certain is that he absolutely loved a good joke—particularly if it ridiculed or parodied those in…
Review: ‘Becky Shaw’ – A Tidal Pool of Shifting Relationships
By Alan Sherrod A good piece of theatre always keeps its audience guessing, a bit off balance as it were, exploring a narrative hallway of doors left there by the playwright. Becky Shaw, a 2008 comedy by Gina Gionfriddo…
