Music Diva

Madame Butterfly. Never miss the chance to experience this opera, which debuted in Italy, 1904, and at the NY Metropolitan Opera, 1907. One of composer Giacomo Puccini's masterpieces, it will be presented in concert with the 98 piece Pacific Symphony Orchestra, with conductor Carl St. Clair in his 30th season with the famed group. Be there. Be delighted. Having seen previous opera concert productions of "Aida" and "La Boheme" at this venue, it can be said this is a superior opera experience. A distilled operatic presentation where the genius of the composer and librettists, in this case, Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, who also wrote Puccini's "Tosca" and "La Boheme", shine.  One realizes elaborate scenery and costumes, though enjoyable, are not necessary. Not when Puccini's melting arias, sung by young, handsome actors, are served up. These three operas are the most popular with performances worldwide. Madame Butterfly is a love story. At least on the part of the young Japanese girl who marries an American naval officer, Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton, in Nagasaki, Japan. It should be remembered Japan had been closed to the West until U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry's four ships sailed into Tokyo Bay, July 8, 1853, seeking to re-open trade between Japan and the West. It didn't take long after that event for ...

by Angela Rocco DeCarlo 3D Theatricals Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts Aug. 27 Weekend     Monty Python's Flying Circus BBC TV show ran from 1969-1974 racking up 45 episodes which morphed into film and Broadway renditions.   Either you "get" Monty Python or you don't.  No convincing way to explain the great enjoyment of such nuttiness. There is an opportunity to revisit the genius of Eric Idle, book & Lyric, music by John Du Prez and Eric Idle, at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts next weekend with the wonderful 3D Theatricals presentation.   As a fan of the original TV show I've kept up with the films as well as the stage shows. Like watching "Star Trek" viewers must engage in a certain amount of suspended belief.   Spamalot is set in the first millennium. But it's mocking comedy is drawn from modern cultural references. The French are lampooned, Jews are picked on for theatrical support and of course, the Brits are endlessly held up as a dim, though sincere, bunch.   The current show gives a flicker homage to various shows - "Phantom of the Opera," "West Side Story," and "Fiddler on the Roof." I last saw the show ten years ago in Las Vegas with John O'Hurley (Seinfeld's Mr. Peterman) commanding the King Arthur part. He should be seen more.   The Cerritos ...

Muzeo Museum and Cultural Center Anaheim, CA By Angela Rocco DeCarlo "Downton Abbey," one of the most successful television shows, is set in a fictional Edwardian English castle, awash with nobles, paid-servants and enormous upheavals due to war, jealousy and financial ruin. The Muzeo Museum and Cultural Center, Anaheim, CA, is presenting an exhibition of the lovely wardrobe of the show. Seeing the clothing up close is delightful. In every detail the show's six seasons evoked the volcanic disruptions brought on by World War I and its political, societal and financial changes. The Roaring Twenties and the Jazz Age took woman from their corseted floor-length dresses to loose shifts exposing naked shoulders and legs - shocking. "In olden days a glimpse of stocking was looked on as something shocking, now God knows, anything goes." From Noel Coward's song, "Anything Goes." The Downton Abbey era is illuminated through the skillful Julian Fellows' scripts and an array of outstanding good-looking actors who enchanted television viewers. The gorgeous period clothing charmed all. "Dressing Downton - Changing Fashion for Changing Times" featuring nearly 40 of the original garments designed and fitted to the individual actors, can be seen at Muzeo Museum and Cultural Center, Anaheim, California, until May 11. It then ...

Verdi's masterpiece - one of them anyway - AIDA, has it's final Orange County, CA, performance Tuesday, 8 p.m., Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, Costa Mesa, CA. It is not to be missed.        Aida, the 1871 spectacle usually performed with "a cast of thousands," including animals, which debuted at the Cairo Opera House, is distilled to its essential elements, which are quite enough to enthrall an audience.  Local critics were lavish in praise of the South African soprano, Kelebogile Besong, making her North American debut, in the role of Aida at Segerstrom Concert Hall.                    This is one of the great operas everyone should see at least once.  It is awash with military and political intrigue, a love triangle and enough gorgeous Verdi music to thrill.         Besong as Aida, slave to the Egyptian princess Amneris, played by local diva, Milena Kitic, is besotted with the Egyptian military hero, Radames, the man Amneris wants for herself. Aida, herself a princess, unknown to her captors, is distraught when the victorious General Radames brings back defeated enemies, which include Aida's father, the king.          The ingenious staging in an oversized downstage sandbox, with the fabulous 88 - piece Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Carl St. Clair conducting, on stage behind the actors, works rather well. The chorus and dancers ...

By Angela Rocco DeCarlo Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall Segerstrom Center for the Arts Costa Mesa, CA February 23, 25, 28 – 8 p.m. Aida, the spectacular Giuseppe Verdi opera of 1871, alight with a dramatic love triangle, political and military intrigue, and the glorious aria “Celeste Aida” in Act 1, and the “Triumphal March” of Act II, comes to Orange County, California, February 23, 25 and 28. This is the opera everyone should experience at least once. Verdi was the most successful and widely performed composer in opera history. No opera season in the world is complete without including at least two of his major pieces. The Pacific Symphony, with Carl St. Clair conducting, at Renee and Henry Segerstom Concert Hall, Costa Mesa, CA, presents Verdi's dynamic masterpiece in a full-orchestra of  88 musicians, “semi-staged” concert presentation, featuring stellar performers, including local diva, Milena Kitic, who was the ferocious gypsy beauty of Bizet's Carmen, in thePacific Symphony production of a few years ago. She performs Amneris, the Egyptian princess in love with military hero, Radames. Making her North American debut, South African mezzo, Kelebogile Besong, sings the role of Aida, captured Nubian princess, slave to Amneris. Unknown to others, Aida and Radames share a deep love ...

About the only thing missing from Odysseo, the mesmerizing equine show from Cavalia, the Cirque du Soleil-style horse show, is Pegasus, the winged horse. Stabled in the huge white tent - looks like a marvel of engineering, at the 405 and 133 in Irvine, CA, we, together with our younger grandchildren were entranced by the grace and charm of humans and their mighty steeds in this exciting show. We had seen Cavalia when it was in the same location in 2007  with our older grandchildren. I wanted to see it again and it was well worth a second look. There is a certain magic in watching a 2,000 pound animal dance gracefully. The brilliance of Odysseo's designers in having a beautifully formed horse shown on a hill in the distance, illuminated in black silhouette, was stunning. Everyone has seen horses execute nimble movements, but this depiction of control, training and charm was unique due to the staging. The audience was so enchanted it's doubtful few noticed stage front becoming a shallow pond. A wonderful effect as riders then took their mounts to gently splash in the little stream. The show begins slowly enough, to give the audience a chance to review the numerous animals in a pastoral scene, before set exercises begin. I found the white horse close drill fascinating as they ...

by Angela Rocco DeCarlo Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, Costa Mesa, CA Renée Fleming is a big deal. The opera soprano is celebrated for her beauty, charming grace and acclaimed vocal talents.   She will be performing with the Pacific Symphony orchestra, conductor Carl St. Clair, in Orange County September 13, 8 p.m., at theRenée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, singing a varied program including songs from the Rogers & Hammerstein musical "The King and I," as well as opera favorites such as Leoncavello's "Mattinata," and Mozart's Overture to "The Abduction from the Seraglio."  Of particular anticipation will be her presentation of Richard Strauss's hauntingly beautiful "Four Last Songs."               Renée Fleming  is someone who should be on everyone's "bucket list" of great performers to see in person. Her repertoire of dozens of operas has taken her to opera houses all over the world. Yet, she continues to add to her artistic endeavors with recitals and mentoring budding opera artists with master classes while sending opera into the Chicago community of public schools. She serves as creative consultant to Lyric Opera of Chicago.               This September 13th Fleming recital is a stellar opportunity to experience the very best musical entertainment by a performer at her peak. It will be an evening of glistening music, with something special for everyone.    Fleming is the "gold medal" ...

Puccini's Turandot Soars: Pacific Symphony Feb. 18, 20 & 23 Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall Costa Mesa, CA Giacomo Puccini's final opera, "Turandot,' debut 1926, librettists, Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni, at La Scala opera house, Milan, Italy, is admirably showcased with the wizardry of Pacific Symphony's imaginative concert production running February 18, 20 and 23, at the Segerstrom Concert Hall, Costa Mesa, California.   It is a show that surprises, entertains, delights and thrills to the combined talents of singers, orchestra, video designers and dancers. With the full orchestra on-stage, conducted by Carl St. Clair, the Pacific Chorale arrayed above, the Southern California Children's Chorus, adding unexpected luminary delights and video images of China reminiscent of Hollywood Cinemascope.   Directed by Eric Einhorn, "Turnadot" grabs the audience in an embrace of extraordinary Puccini music, Including the world-famous aria "Nessun dorma," sung by Prince Calaf, played by tenor, Marc Heller, as he promises himself victory in winning the princess. The aria has become known as the signature for the late Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti.   Based upon a 12th century Persian fairy tale, "Turandot" (the final t is pronounced) transported to ancient China, where the Princess Turandot lives imprisoned in self-imposed hatred of men seemingly to avenge the abduction and murder of her ancestor of a thousand years ago. Not really a love story in the ...

  Thanks to energetic singer-pianist Michael Feinstein, audiences are enjoying Frank Sinatra's music, keeping him in memory alive and well, 17 years after his final curtain call and one hundred years after his birth.   We experienced Feinstein's Sinatra homage at the opening of the Orange County Pacific Symphony's pop season, November 6-7, at the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, Costa Mesa, California.   It was terrifically fun. Soprano Jessica Rivera opened the evening with a lovely mix of Broadway tunes. After intermission of 25 minutes, Feinstein showered the audience with an 80 minute show - after which many were wishing for more.   Recalling Sinatra's one hundred years is a good reason to celebrate a career that spanned the better part of the 20th century, though his contemporary, Perry Como, is said to have remarked about Sinatra - "We used to be the same age, but now he's younger than me." Como was born in 1912. Apparently,a Sinatra agent shaved some time from Sinatra in the early years, not an uncommon thing to do. And at this stage it hardly matters..   Michael Feinstein, resurrecting Sinatra's song selections, with the magnificent 88-piece Pacific Symphony Pops Orchestra, conducted by Richard Kaufman, conjured the aura of awe and appreciation for ...

By Angela Rocco DeCarlo Frank Sinatra is still dead. But his music and iconic imprint on the soul of music lovers of several generations remains. Plenty of wheelchairs kept company with fresh-faced teens in coming to pay homage to a great iconic performing artist of the last century. Frank Sinatra Jr., pianist and singer, debuted his paternal paean, “Sinatra Sings Sinatra: as I Remember it,” in Orange County, California, May 2, 2015. The show is scheduled for May 22, in Wilkes-Barre,PA, at Kirby Center for the Performing Arts. It was clear the debut audience loved the show and gave both Sinatras – younger and elder - a standing ovation. In fact, a more enthusiastic crowd is seldom seen outside a rock concert. Clearly they were swept away by the magnificent 39-piece onstage orchestra and the catalog of emotional memories Albert Francis Sinatra’s long career evokes in each individual. Nonetheless, I confess I went expecting to hear, as well as see, something of the original Sinatra. Alas, there was no audio of Sinatra Sr. The show was a son’s remembrance with photos and his rendition of the music. As a rich archive of film, television, recordings, as well as newspaper coverage of six decades, is available, hoping to ...