It was probably four or five years ago when I began mentioning in my columns what seemed to be a strange scarcity of professional classical music performances in Knoxville during the month of December, a month I believed should be…
Review: UT Opera Theatre’s ‘The Consul’
At the time Gian Carlo Menotti created his opera The Consul in 1950, American notions of bureaucracy and its practitioners were defined by deep suspicion and the fear of insidious dehumanization. By today’s standards, those attitudes were almost laughably simplistic. Our…
This Weekend–UT Opera Theatre–Menotti’s ‘The Consul’
The University of Tennessee Opera Theatre brings a production of Gian Carlo Menotti’s opera The Consul to the Bijou Theatre for four performances, Friday thru Sunday. For details, see my preview in this week’s Knoxville Mercury. Stage director: James Marvel…
Review: KSO’s ‘Mozart and More’ at the Bijou
If you’ve never been to a classical music concert at Knoxville’s Bijou Theatre, then any mention of the hall’s acoustic subtlety is virtually meaningless—and you probably aren’t reading this anyway. However, audiences that frequent the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s Sunday afternoon…
Sunday at the Bijou: Mozart and More
“Mozart and More” — Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s Chamber Classics Series Knoxville Symphony Chamber Orchestra Sunday, November 1, 2:30 p.m. Bijou Theatre, 803 S. Gay Street, downtown Knoxville Info/tickets I had the opportunity recently to reflect on the idea of a…
Review: Knoxville Symphony Chamber Orchestra – Schubert, Weber, Mendelssohn
Thank heavens for the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s Chamber Classics Series. The series has been, and is continuing to be this season, a breath of fresh air and a true opportunity to hear works that bypass the KSO’s full orchestra concerts—and…
This Weekend: UT Opera Theatre’s ‘The Magic Flute’
The University of Tennessee Opera Theatre is once again downtown at the Bijou Theatre, this time for a production of Mozart’s final opera, Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute). The production, directed by James Marvel with musical direction by Kevin Class,…
Sunday: KSO Chamber Orchestra Teases Us With Thoughts of Spring
Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring seems to miraculously capture something of hope and longing, and evokes a yearning for a rebirth and a new beginning in a landscape of pastoral beauty. In truth, though, Copland was merely composing for an as-yet…
On Sunday: KSO Performs Strauss’ ‘Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme’
Knoxville Symphony Chamber Orchestra–‘Orchestra Soloists’ Stamitz/Holzbogen: Trumpet Concerto in D Mozart: Bassoon Concerto R. Strauss: Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme Sunday, Jan. 11, 2015, 2:30 p.m. Bijou Theatre Tickets start at $15 (Continued from yesterday’s article) Composer Richard Strauss and librettist Hugo von…
Review: KSO’s Principal Quartet at the Bijou
Sunday’s cool weather, still a bit damp around the edges, seemed to soften the brilliance of the day, gently blurring out the hard angles of autumn sun against a perfect blue sky. Given the almost painterly atmosphere, it was hard…