Author Archives: Alan Rich

Photo by Kenneth Ian PolakoffSITE NON-SPECIFICTrust the Long Beach Opera as time-and-place travelers. Not so long ago the company asked us to accept a transplant of Richard Strauss’ blood-drenched Elektra from sun-swept Grecian isles to the doom-haunted shores of Malibu. … Continue reading →

Photo by Tre VorleightonANTONIN, FRANZ AND RUDI Two clarinets entwine around a soft arpeggio, and Antonin Dvorák’s F-major Symphony (No. 5 by modern listing, formerly No. 3) is under your skin before you feel its soft touch. No symphony makes … Continue reading →

Photos by Robert MillardFADED NOBILITY The critics were all over town last week – dance, theater, music – convening with their self-importance in full array, convoking their endless panel discussions (I led one), checking out what Los Angeles had to … Continue reading →

It happened on another 9/11 – 2000, to be exact. Tenor-superior Plácido Domingo, the L.A. Opera’s newly anointed artistic director, called a press conference, and the freeloaders were all there to sip the opera company’s coffee and sample Domingo’s pie-in-the-sky. … Continue reading →

Amor, Amor . . . The Liebersons have spent the week with us, and we are the better for it. Peter Lieberson is the son of Goddard, who in his day was one of music’s authentic heroes. Goddard Lieberson was … Continue reading →

A HOLLOW RING The news had begun to circulate over the weekend, so that by Monday night the crowd at the County Museum for the EAR Unit season’s final concert was considerably larger than usual. The news involved decisions by … Continue reading →

All Fours Two nights of high musical adventure at the start of the month were reason enough for gratitude: to the dauntless, imaginative programming and performance skills of the Penderecki String Quartet, and to the leadership of the County Museum, … Continue reading →

Photo by Betty FriedmanBY GEORGE The Pacific Symphony’s American Composers Festival is a class act if ever one was. The fifth running, which ended last weekend, may have been a lumpier mix than some, but it brought some interesting music … Continue reading →

BOY-OH-BOY We have yet to experience the pleasure of observing Susan Graham in action on the operatic stage, but her solo recital at the Chandler Pavilion, from first note to last, was an event of high and delightful theater. “First … Continue reading →

Blini Three orchestras held the Disney stage on successive evenings last week, diverse in program offerings and in musical language. Two of the groups were of symphony-orchestra size (100 or so); the other numbered 10. In Disney’s acoustic splendor, all … Continue reading →