I was delighted to attend the matinée of Ballet West's The Nutcracker on Wednesday, December 27, 2023, the final day of this season's production. Ballet West's co-founder, Willam Christensen, originally choreographed this version of The Nutracker, the first full-length production in the United States, in 1944 during his tenure with the San Francisco Ballet. He... Continue Reading →
Last weekend, the Utah Symphony featured a program of primarily American compositions, a Bach keyboard concerto being the notable exception. Composer and conductor Teddy Abrams (Music Director of the Louisville Orchestra) and pianist Awadagin Pratt joined the Utah Symphony for this performance. I attended Friday night's concert, and I had looked forward to it primarily... Continue Reading →
Ballet West continued its 60th anniversary season with a mixed repertoire program titled Firebird that included three shorter works: Igor Stravinsky's The Firebird, choreographed by Willam Christensen; the world premiere of Fever Dream, composed and choreographed by former Ballet West Demi-Soloist Joshua Whitehead; and George Balanchine's Stars and Stripes, set to music by John Philip... Continue Reading →
Audra McDonald, versatile star of stage and screen, joined the Utah Symphony for two performances this weekend at Abravanel Hall. Having attended her concert with the Utah Symphony in the spring of 2018, I knew that she would deliver a fantastic performance, so I was excited to hear her again on Friday night. Her singing... Continue Reading →
The 2023-2024 season marks Ballet West's 60th anniversary, and the company is celebrating that milestone by staging several beloved fan favorites. Ballet West began the season at the end of October with a production of Dracula, and several colleagues and I attended its last performance. The story opens in the crypt of Count Dracula's castle... Continue Reading →
From Rachmaninoff to rock, my tastes in music are diverse. I often struggle to answer the question about what type of music I like because I don't have a single type. I love music that spans a wide spectrum of eras, genres, and artists. And so it is that I found myself at the Guns... Continue Reading →
"We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each other's happiness - not by each other's misery. We don't want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone. And the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The... Continue Reading →
I saw Giacomo Puccini's La bohème for the first time in October 2017 when Utah Opera staged a production to open its 40th season, giving a nod to the company's first production of its inaugural season in 1978. I was a relatively new opera patron in 2017, slowly becoming familiar with key composers and their... Continue Reading →
"At its heart, this piece asks a deeply human question about justice and who holds the right to see it served."Melissa Rain Anderson - Director's Note Pioneer Theatre Company opens its 2023-2024 season with Ken Ludwig's stage adaptation of Agatha Christie's classic mystery Murder on the Orient Express. The tale is familiar, along with its... Continue Reading →
I attended Saturday night's Utah Symphony concert which included Mozart's Overture to Don Giovanni, K. 527, Beethoven's "Emperor" Piano Concerto (Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 73) , and Prokofiev's Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major, Op. 100. Even though I have a passing familiarity with all three composers, the music on the... Continue Reading →
The Good Life 
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