Out West Arts: Performance at the end of the world

Thomas Adès
Photo: Emi/D.Thompson 2001

Yes, I know I’ve been very delinquent in posting lately. Trust me, you don’t want to know. I’ve seen some worthwhile things, though, including rather lovely French and Russian programs with the LA Philharmonic, Dawn Upshaw's return to Southern California with Golijov's Ayre and more than a few plays. But the big thing on the horizon is the upcoming trip to New York starting next week, which will include four operas, two musicals and one straight play. I may just luck into seeing Deborah Voigt and Ben Heppner actually perform Tristan und Isolde together and I will also get to see the opening performance of Prokofiev’s The Gambler. You can read more on the details in the sidebar and I'll be posting while I'm out of town.

But perhaps the actual highlight of the week will be two shows at Zankel Hall, where composer, pianist, and general gay dreamboat Thomas Adès will be leading two programs. Saturday the 29th will see a bill of his own works as part of the “Making Music” series, which will include Five Eliot Landscapes, Court Studies from The Tempest, and Living Toys. On Friday 28, Adès and the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group will reprise the concert performance of Gerald Barry’s opera The Triumph of Beauty and Deceit, which was one of LA's musical highlights of 2006. Much of the same cast who appeared with the Los Angeles Philharmonic will be on hand as well. Barry's work has been too little performed in this country, and Adès should be commended for advocating his work on this side of the Atlantic. So, don’t miss out - I wager the operatic event for March will not involve Wagner no matter who shows up at Lincoln Center next week.