Beethoven's Ninth at Cleveland's Severance Hall

By Frank Kuznik, 03 April 2014

Loading, please wait...

See full listing

Reviewed at Severance Music Center: Mandel Concert Hall, Cleveland on 28 March 2014

Beethoven, Symphony no. 9 in D minor "Choral", Op.125

Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra

Joel Smirnoff, Conductor

Catheryne Shuman, Soprano

Samantha Gossard, Mezzo-soprano

Vincent Cole, Tenor

Brian Johnson, Baritone

A Celebration of English Opera in Cleveland

Frank Kuznik, 27th February

Two English operas featuring strong central female characters, men called by the sea, and tragedy wrought by overwhelming, irresistible forces form a double bill in Cleveland, directed by David Bamberger.

****1

Regents Opera’s Salome lands a knockout punch at York Hall

Mark Pullinger, 10th April

Mark Ravenhill directs a brutal, bloody Salome for Regents Opera at the spiritual home of British boxing, York Hall.

****1

Ensemble Masques opens “Cembalomania” at the Elbphilharmonie

Mengguang Huang, 12th December

Ensemble Masques brings French Baroque to life at the Elbphilharmonie, with Olivier Fortin’s radiant harpsichord, spirited strings and vivid interplay revealing the expressive richness of Couperin, Rameau, Forqueray and Corrette.

****1

La bohème as escapist epic at LA Opera

Néstor Castiglione, 22nd November

Puccini's tale of bohemian love lives on at the Dorothy Chandler as LA Opera launches its 2025-26 season.

****1

John Neumeier’s Liliom: A Prague triumph

Graham Watts, 23rd October

Czech National Ballet scores a hit in John Neumeier’s masterpiece Liliom, with back to back performances and multiple casts.

*****

Revival of Ostrčil’s The Legend of Erin misses the mark in Prague

Frank Kuznik, 16th October

An ambitious effort to honor hometown hero Otakar Ostrčil sags under its own weight at the Prague National Theatre.

***11

More reviews...

Frank Kuznik

Frank Kuznik is the former Editor-in-Chief and Culture Editor of The Prague Post, Central Europe’s premier English-language weekly newspaper. He currently divides his time between Prague and his hometown in the US, Cleveland, where he covers northeast Ohio's dynamic classical music scene. In Prague he is an habitué of the Rudolfinum, National Theater, State Opera and other storied classical music venues, and an unabashed fan of Czech music.