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Austin360 blogs > Austin Arts: Seeing Things > Archives > 2008 > April > 14
Monday, April 14, 2008
Review: Austin Chamber Music’s Long Center debut
If you have the talent to show off, why not do so?
That’s what Austin Chamber Music Center did for its flourishing debut at the new Long Center for the Performing Art’s Rollins Studio Theatre Sunday night.
In a program of three virtuosic — and demanding — pieces, ACMC artistic director Michelle Schumann and guests — violinist Sonja Braaten and cellist Martha Baldwin, both of the Cleveland Orchectra — impressed a near-capacity audience that rewarded with an enthusiastic standing ovation at concert’s end.
And what was there not to be utterly impressed with? Schumann and Braaten opened with Beethoven’s mighty Kreutzer Sonata and deftly interpreted the piece’s vast scale, coaxing great nuance from a score that sweeps in mood from furious to meditative and joyously exuberant.
Schumann showed her whip-smart sense of programming with the surprising Ravel Sonata for Violin and Cello, an untypical Ravel piece with tonal austerity that nevertheless radiated with a kind of modernist lyricism and undeniable vigor.
In a testament to sheer power and endurance that this trio of female musicians displayed, the concert concluded with Tchaikovsky’s demanding Piano Trio in A minor. The undeniably dramatic work — about 40 minutes in length — builds from a dirge-like romantic opening into a series of increasingly complex and ecstatic variations before ending in a quiet yet moving funereal march. And Schumann and company crafted it to be equal parts breathtaking technique and passionate emotion.
Schumann made the forward-thinking decision to be the first of Austin’s not-major classical groups to use the new $77 million downtown performing arts center as its principal concert venue.
To be sure, the Rollins Studio Theatre isn’t as ideal acoustically for classical music as the Long Center’s Dell Hall is. Dell Hall sparkles with clarity and warmth. Rollins is fine, but a bit dry; the vibrant halo of sound doesn’t hold and linger the way that it does in Dell Hall. But the Rollins’ sophisticated (and comfortable) setting lends a refreshing urban aura to a centuries-old musical genre.
Before Sunday night’s concert, the Rollins lobby made a commodious and attractive venue for a short concert by a brass quintet from ACMC’s community music school. Afterward, audience members lingered to chat with the performers.
Welcome to chamber music’s chamber for the 21st century.
Michelle Schumann in the Rollins Studio Theatre. Photo by Riccardo Brazziell.
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Review: ‘Doubt: A Parable.’
The story of “Doubt: A Parable,” an investigation by two nuns of a possible pedophile priest, has the makings of made-for-TV mystery pabulum, but the underpinnings are a hearty challenge. The trick is in bringing them out.
As the play’s 2005 Pulitzer attests, John Patrick Shanley struck gold. His way with words is as invigorating as his tight pacing and nuanced characters are captivating.
As the suspected priest, Jamie Goodwin ranges from charismatic sermons to intimate, urgent sincerity. Janelle Buchanan as the investigating sister lands her many arch, comic lines while keeping a driven purpose, and Sydney Andrews’ younger, more innocent nun provides an excellent emotional touchstone of the play. Angela Rawna’s performance as the mother of the boy in question, while brief, is strong and riveting.
The detective drama succeeds, but the moral probing falls short. Goodwin is almost too nice to be anything other than sympathetic, and Buchanan is far from the “block of ice” her Sister Aloysius is described as. More droll than severe, she’s something of a sober Nora Charles instead of a personification of absolute justice.
The pairing makes for a compelling, entertaining mystery, but it removes all doubt. Two equally uncomfortable opposites should fill the room with uncertainty. Instead there are two endearing people, one of whom just happens to be right and the other, unfortunately, wrong.
(“Doubt” continues at 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. Sundays through May 11 at Zachary Scott Theatre, Whisenhunt Stage, 1510 Toomey Road. $15-$34. 476-0541, www.zachscott.com.)
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‘Carmen’ sells out Dell Hall; live broadcast planned
Austin Lyric Opera’s production of “Carmen” — the organization’s debut at the new Long Center for the Performing Arts — has sold out all of its four upcoming performances at the Long’s 2,400-seat Dell Hall. As of blog posting time, all but a few single tickets have been sold.
But even if you don’t have a ticket, you’ll still have the chance to hear the inaugural performance Friday night when Classical 89.5 KMFA broadcasts the opera live beginning at 7 p.m.
This is the first of a series of planned simulcasts of ALO’s productions.
The simulcast commentary will be hosted by Lauren Rico, also the host of Minnesota Opera broadcasts on public radio. Intermission interviews will feature ALO’s General Director Kevin Patterson, Principal Conductor Richard Buckley and stars from the production.
Celebrated mezzo-soprano Beth Clayton will sing the role of Carmen. William Joyner will sing the role of the young soldier Don José.
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