Of Utah Opera's offerings this season, I had most looked forward to seeing La Traviata because I hadn't seen a live production before. My only prior experience had been seeing Zeffirelli's 1982 film version starring Plácido Domingo and Teresa Stratas, which I saw because my mother and grandmother were fans, thus making it a long-standing... Continue Reading →
La Vida Loca: Latin Pop Hits—a night with the Utah Symphony devoted to Latin pop from the '90s and early 2000s—is not a concert. It's a party! Conductor Enrico Lopez-Yañez is equal parts bandleader and host—a dynamic presence who moves seamlessly between the orchestra and soloists, occasionally adding to the vocals as well. His charismatic... Continue Reading →
Utah Opera's production of Fidelio opened at Capitol Theatre on Saturday night. I hadn't seen this opera before, so I was excited to go and experience something new. Under the direction of Tara Faircloth, who also directed Utah Opera's productions of The Little Prince in 2019 and 2024, this production updates Beethoven and Sonnleithner's work... Continue Reading →
Abravanel Hall is all dressed up this weekend in vibrant color and brilliant sparkle for the Utah Symphony's Holiday Pops Extravaganza. Guest conductor Lucas Waldin leads an up-tempo program of holiday favorites, Capathia Jenkins and Ryan Shaw deliver expressive vocals, and Vedrana Subotic adds beautiful piano melodies to the symphony's orchestration. This is a fun,... Continue Reading →
The Utah Symphony delivered a magnificent concert at Abravanel Hall last night! Guest conductor Pietari Inkinen led the orchestra in performing Unsuk Chin' subito con forza; Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37; and AntonÃn Dvořák's Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op. 70. Piano soloist Shai Wosner mesmerized the... Continue Reading →
November 7, 2025 November 7, 2025 Some concerts are absolute perfection! Such was the case with the Utah Symphony concert last Friday night at Abravanel Hall. The program featured Gabriel Fauré's Requiem and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74 -"Pathétique" conducted by Utah Symphony Music Director Designate Markus Poschner. Fauré... Continue Reading →
The Utah Symphony finished its regular season this Thursday and Friday with violin soloist Clara-Jumi Kang playing Erich Wolfgang Korngold's Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35 under the direction of conductor emeritus Thierry Fischer. That was enough to motivate me to purchase a ticket for Thursday evening's performance because this violin concerto is incredibly stirring,... Continue Reading →
The Utah Symphony concluded its regular season this past weekend with a program featuring three contemporary works: Fanfare Ritmico by Jennifer Higdon, Fandango by Arturo Márquez, and Symphony No. 3 by Aaron Copland. Guest conductor Giancarlo Guerrero and violinist Anne Akiko Meyers joined the symphony for these concerts. I attended Friday evening's performance, and I... Continue Reading →
Life became busy and took me in several different directions, keeping me from writing about the performing arts events I was attending. I am happy to be back writing about The Good Life, so let's jump in! I decided on a whim to attend Saturday evening's Utah Symphony concert, featuring two composers' interpretations of Scheherazade.... 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 →
The Good Life 
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