by Paul E. Robinson

The Dallas Opera has a long and illustrious history. It was founded in 1957 and its first presentations featured the legendary Maria Callas in a Zeffirelli production of “La Traviata,” as well as in “Medea,” and “Lucia di Lammermoor.” Other big stars followed, including Montserrat Caballé, Placido Domingo, Joan Sutherland [...]

read more from this topic.....

by Paul E. Robinson

There are plenty of recordings of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 7 Op. 60 (”Leningrad”), but one rarely gets a chance to hear it in concert. The same could be said, only more so, for Benjamin Britten’s Violin Concerto Op. 15. To have them both offered on the same program is a [...]

read more from this topic.....

by Paul E. Robinson

Classical Travels
This Week in Italy
Beethoven’s” Missa Solemnis” has always had a reputation for being monumental and impossibly difficult to perform – especially for the chorus. The difficulty stems in part from the fact that the work dates from late in Beethoven’s life, by which time he was completely deaf and almost [...]

read more from this topic.....