NO, it's not really opera, but it's related by more than half: Jane Glover, the conductor of Music of the Baroque, usually conducts one opera for the Chicago Opera Theater. Last year she conducted Don Giovanni and this year it will be another Mozart gem, La Clemenza di Tito. Also, tonight the MOB performed a section of Purcell's Fairy Queen, a semi-opera, and they started their season with a concert version of a Handel opera, so I'm not too far off-topic.
Among the many wonderful things about Chicago, the arts and humanities reign supreme for me. Art Institute? Love it! The Chicago Symphony Orchestra? World class. The Lyric Opera? Great singing. But the Music of the Baroque is almost a secret treasure; guess it's not such a secret because few seats remained empty.
Check it out:
http://www.baroque.org/about/
Great hits this evening to commemorate the births and deaths of four great and standard composers: Purcell, Handel, Haydn, and Mendelssohn. For the neophyte these are recognizable names. Many tunes and styles also resonate with non-classical music people, which isn't to say it was cliched, trite, or dull to the regular WFMT listener. Not at all. In fact, a chamber orchestra setting brings nuances to light for everyone.
Simply splendid evening made more educational by excellent program notes, neither too pedantic nor superficial. And if one can find the time, pre-concert lectures brush one up ever so refreshingly.
Bravo, Chicago. Your arts more than make up for the strange weather and politics!
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1 comment:
Thank you for writing this review--eloquent, interesting, and really helpful for those of us trying to sift through Chicago's cultural offerings. Maybe I'll check out their May concert!
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