Performer: Charlotte Blake Alston

A fully produced performance of Brahms' Die schӧne Magelone in Philadelphia, complete with on-stage narrator and bespoke drawings, proved less than the sum of its parts.

Unstaged performances of Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex and George Walker's Lilacs highlighted musical inadequacies and deprived audiences of the creative productions they've come to expect from this company.

Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin and soloist Yo-Yo Ma stuck to the tried and true while ushering in a season "transformed and informed" by the pandemic's impact.

Works by Still and Ellington make their welcome appearance at Disney Hall, but the presentation left a bit to be desired.