Gerald Finley, the star of John Adams's opera Doctor Atomic, is the subject of a feature profile in the Globe and Mail, which examines Finley's work with "opera's great chronicler of modern history," particularly in a role that "sometimes feels like the nightly equivalent of a triathlon." Violinist Leila Josefowicz tells the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review about performing Adams's The Dharma at Big Sur, which she will do again this weekend, with the composer conducting the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. The piece "takes you to a different place," she says, "with total strength vs. vulnerability at the same time."
Canadian-born baritone Gerald Finley, the star of the current English National Opera production (and, in fact, all previous productions) of John Adams's 2005 opera Doctor Atomic, is the subject of a feature profile in Toronto's Globe and Mail. Writer Elizabeth Renzetti examines Finley's work with Adams, "opera's great chronicler of modern history," particularly in a role that she suggests "sometimes feels like the nightly equivalent of a triathlon."
Finley, who plays J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, would likely agree with that description of the role. "John Adams does not stint on the vocal demands, or indeed the musical demands," he tells Renzetti. "Everyone in this piece is stretched, in a good way."
You can find out more about Finely and Doctor Atomic at theglobeandmail.com.
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Another frequent performer of the composer's work, violinist Leila Josefowicz, is featured in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. She discusses a different set of challenges and rewards posed by another Adams piece, The Dharma at Big Sur, which she will perform in two concerts this weekend, with the composer conducting the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. The Heinz Hall performances on Friday and Sunday also include Sibelius's Sixth Symphony and interludes from Britten's Peter Grimes.
Adams wrote The Dharma at Big Sur for the violectra, an six-string electric violin to which Josefowicz wasn't accustomed when she first began playing the piece. She tells writer Mark Kanny, the Tribune-Review's classical music critic, that, while the instrument may be plugged in, Adams's music for it doesn't feature the sort of hard-core licks one might expect from electrified strings.
"This piece is a genius work in a certain way, because it's not like that at all," she says. "In most ways, it's about the teachings of Buddha—non-aggressive, a piece about good will ... [It] takes you to a different place, with total strength vs. vulnerability at the same time."
Read more at pittsburghlive.com. For information on this weekend's concerts, visit pittsburghsymphony.org.
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