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A Day for Reflection

September 11, 2021 By Guy St. Clair

Walking down Fifth Avenue just after dark last night, we could see the two commemorative 9/11 light shafts. They were at the foot of Manhattan, shining their seemingly endless high blue columns into the sky. The day itself – September 10 – had been weirdly reminiscent of September 11 in 2001. Absolutely beautiful weather, not …

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Filed Under: Current Events, Music, Personal History Tagged With: 2001 (September 11), 9/11, Faulkner (William), Mahler - Symphony No. 2, Mahler ("Resurrection" Symphony, Mahler (Gustav), Metropolitan Opera Association, New York Philharmonic, September 11 2001, Verdi - Manzoni Requiem, Verdi (Giuseppe)

A Little Inspiration Perhaps

May 22, 2020 By Guy St. Clair

As we struggle with what’s happening all around us, from time to time we need a little inspiration. I recommend listening to two choral pieces. Both are pretty remarkable and speak to us – it seems to me – in our current situation. In the first, the Met Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, …

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Filed Under: Current Events, Music, Personal History, Uncategorized Tagged With: COVID-19, Metropolitan Opera Association, Nabucco (opera), Nézet-Séguin (Yannick), Verdi (Giuseppe)

The Met’s Porgy and Bess Revisited

January 14, 2020 By Guy St. Clair

In October, when I wrote about the Met’s new production of The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, I was pretty sure I would be writing about it again. There was more I wanted to say about this important New York event, and now that it is into its second set of performances this season, this seems …

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Filed Under: Music, Personal History Tagged With: Boito (Arrigo), Freed, Gershwin (George), Gershwin (Ira), Mahler (Gustav), Mefistofele (opera), Metropolitan Opera Association, National Symphony Orchestra, Noble (T. Tertius), Porgy and Bess (Opera), Richard, St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue (New York)

Remembering Jessye Norman

December 23, 2019 By Guy St. Clair

It seems appropriate, at this special time of year, to remember Jessye Norman. The great opera singer died on September 30. The news – including many fine obituaries – has been almost overwhelming in conveying the admiration so many felt for this lady and her special talent. Yet some of us found ourselves delaying our …

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Filed Under: Music, Personal History Tagged With: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Berlioz (Hector), Christmastide, Confrérie des chevaliers du Tastevin, Cooper (Michael), Diva (film), Ely Cathedral, Ford Foundation, Fraser (Donald), Girl Scouts, Jessye Norman School of the Arts, McCulloch (Jane), Metropolitan Opera Association, Norman (Jessye), Paris 200th Anniversary Celebration, Rose (Michael), Smith (Anna Deavere), The Met on Demand

Porgy and Bess – A Monumental New Look at an American Classic

October 17, 2019 By Guy St. Clair

When I mentioned to a friend that I was going to attend the Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Porgy and Bess he seemed surprised. “Opera?” he asked. “I thought that was a Broadway musical.” Many people feel this way, in part because their experiences with Porgy and Bess have not come from hearing about the show as …

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Filed Under: Music, Personal History Tagged With: Blue (Angel), Evans (Owen), Gershwin (George), Gershwin (Ira), Metropolitan Opera Association, Porgy and Bess (Opera), Schultz (Golda)

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