ASO: Donald Runnicles

Posted on April 23, 2016 by Robbie

I’m not feeling that great, so I’m not going to go into detail about this evening’s excellent performance of Mahler’s Symphony no 9 by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Donald Runnicles, except to say that I’m really glad that I got to hear it and that I’m really sorry if I passed my cold on to anyone else. I do want to note that I saw a car with a California plate that said “Gustave M” as I was walking away from the concert along P-Tree, which gave me a nice spurt of joy.

ASO: Robert Spano with Jessica Rivera and Nmon Ford

Posted on April 16, 2016 by Robbie

Spano, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the ASO chorus, and the soloists, soprano Jessica Rivera and baritone Nmon Ford, were all completely on mark for this evening’s performance. The chorus has been very active this season, but mostly they have been performing works of Christian liturgical music that don’t really have much of a draw for me.
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Lucidity Suitcase: Red-Eye to Havre de Grace

Posted on April 15, 2016 by Robbie

The Disappointing Play:
A review in the form of a hastily and poorly written sonnet
By Robbie Clark

Tonight I saw Red-Eye to Havre de Grace,
On the last days of one Edgar A. Poe.
It was done by Lucidity Suitcase,
And I fear that it was only so-so.
Music too simple and too green for me.
The Writing was so nearly good, a shame.
What they wanted to do, we all could see,
But they fell short: just disappointment came.
Although with blocking fine and stage craft slick,
Movement was done deliberate and slow,
So weak despite, sometimes, a clever trick,
The script: only fair with talent less so.
Potential lost, it was almost so good,
But, sadly, not realized as it should.
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ASO: Robert Spano with Louis Lortie

Posted on April 8, 2016 by Robbie

I can’t be entirely sure the wine that I had during intermission didn’t help me enjoy the second half of this evening’s ASO concert so much more than than the first half, but it did help convince me to stay after such a weak beginning.
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ASO: Thomas Søndergård with Alexandre Tharaud

Posted on April 2, 2016 by Robbie

Have you ever wondered what the works of the French Impressionist composers would sound like if conducted in a Wagnerian style? I sure haven’t but, thanks to Thomas Søndergård, I now know that it would sound pretty lame. Or was it just me? When an entire concert is this far off mark then I find myself doubting my own ears, so I guess that maybe there is a chance that this evening’s ASO performance wasn’t played like it was a program of late German romanticism and I’m just crazy. Take that as you will.
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Atlanta Dance Collective: Time + Itinerant

Posted on March 26, 2016 by Robbie

Atlanta Dance Collective’s Time + Itinerant at Synchronicity Theater included four dance pieces by four choreographers in four distinct styles with 3 1/3 distinct ensembles of performers. The live performances were followed by a brief screening of dance for film, the Opine Dance Film Festival, that offered an additional 11 pieces for any audience members who paid the extra $3 on top of the $12 ticket for the main dance concert to stick around and watch it. Overall, the evening not only offered great bang for the buck but also some pretty decent dance and film.
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Atlanta Ballet: 20|20 Visionary

Posted on March 19, 2016 by Robbie

Despite some weaknesses on the front in the of the program, Atlanta Ballet’s March production, 20|20 Visionary, was generally good. A mixed repertoire program, all three pieces were commissioned by the company, although only one received its premiere with this program.
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