by David Maurer | May 15, 2018 | Classical Music and Opera, Featured |
Rigoletto is a study in contrasts — light and dark, tender and brutal, funny and sad. LA Opera’s current production puts Giuseppe Verdi’s groundbreaking musical score front and center as the conceptual and emotional framework from which to explore these dualities....
by David Maurer | May 10, 2018 | Theater and Dance |
W.E.B. Du Bois, the first African American to earn a doctorate from Harvard, stated that “The problem of the 20th century is the problem of the color line.” And in few instances is that line more dramatically drawn than in Native Son, Richard Wright’s harrowing 1940...
by David Maurer | Apr 16, 2018 | Classical Music and Opera, Featured |
With the #MeToo movement lately having its cultural moment, whereby at least some men behaving badly get some form of comeuppance, it seems quite timely to have the Pacific Opera Project staging Don Giovanni, the quintessential tale of out-of-control toxic...
by David Maurer | Apr 12, 2018 | Theater and Dance |
In LA’s small-theater world, one can usually expect timely (or timeless) themes presented by actors intent on demonstrating their acting chops to potential casting directors or other industry types who may be lurking in the dark on any given evening. But with...
by David Maurer | Dec 14, 2017 | Featured, Theater and Dance |
I’m always interested in the genesis of complex works: What was the spark? How did it develop? What collaborations were key to its success? The Heart of Robin Hood, now playing at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, has particularly unusual DNA. It’s...
