By Alan Sherrod As harsh as it sounds, the history of music is the history of fads and fascinations. Whether it was to serve the needs of religion, royalty, wealthy patrons, or a fickle public, composers for centuries have…
Top Ten Most Read Arts Knoxville Stories of 2018
By Alan Sherrod Over the last week, we’ve taken a look back at 2018 and its memorable music performances, as well as the enlightening Top Ten lists from film critics Andrew Swafford and Reid Ramsey. But what stories and…
Most Memorable Classical Music Performances of 2018
By Alan Sherrod Although every music season differs in the performers involved and their artistic choices, each year has its unmistakable trends and distinctive personalities. Themes emerge, certain composers or music become trendy for one reason or another, and…
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…
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: Knoxville Opera Wraps Its 40th Season With A Superb ‘Aida’
By Alan Sherrod It was probably inevitable that Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida would be Knoxville Opera’s choice to conclude the 2017-18 season—its 40th anniversary season. After all, it was to be a season designed to make a major statement for…
Previewing Knoxville Opera’s ‘Aida’: Soprano Michelle Johnson
In almost every decade, it seems, music writers love to dig up an age-old question: “where are the great Verdi sopranos?”
Saturday: Knoxville Opera’s Rossini Festival
Time flies, it seems. That’s the only reasonable explanation for the fact that Knoxville Opera’s Rossini Festival is now in its 17th year as Knoxville’s preeminent street fair event. This year’s version of the free annual event is Saturday, April…
Review: Spectacle Abounds in Knoxville Opera’s ‘Turandot’
It was inevitable that Knoxville Opera would eventually come around again to Giacomo Puccini’s final opera Turandot. Last produced by the company in October 2003, the work virtually cries out for lavish spectacle, given its exotic setting of the Imperial…
Othalie Graham and Jonathan Burton Together Again for Knoxville Opera’s ‘Turandot’
It is a fact that opera need not be produced at the highest and loftiest levels of expense in order to be artistically interesting and successful. This claim has certainly been validated by opera companies like Knoxville Opera and others that operate in the environment of medium-size cities or regional entities.