Word: tenoritis
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...Already, it's been quite a ride. The season opened last October in grand fashion, with orchestra maestro Zubin Mehta conducting Fidelio, Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera, and tenor Peter Seiffert - deemed "the best Florestan [Fidelio's leading man] performing today" by one critic - leading a stellar cast. On Dec. 2, however, a mechanical failure of the hall's stage works that forced the cancellation of several performances demonstrated just how risky and tenuous such triumphs can be. A temporary fix has salvaged the season, but the brief hiatus turned the spotlight on the scale of Valencia's ambition...
...middle-aged man with a face creased with grief began chanting a mournful dirge. The penitents, sitting in rough circles, begin to pound their chests in a powerful rhythm amplified by a hundred chest cavities. Deep and as resonant as a heartbeat, the sound gradually changes tenor as thin cotton shirts split with the force of repeated blows and palms slap bare skin. Men wail...
...that glittering opening night of The First Emperor as a movie-critic. The title role is sung by Placido Domingo, who in the 80s displayed his celebrated tenor in movie versions of Cavallieri Rusticana, Pagliacci, La Traviata and Otello, all directed by Franco Zeffirelli. But I was mainly interested in the Chinese connection. I wanted to see ? hear, really ? what Tan Dun, the gifted composer who had won an Oscar for his scoring of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, would do with his epic subject. I also was eager to see the production, since it was to be staged by Zhang...
...right-wing wags have dubbed it? The events themselves are hardly ostentatious: there's a mass, a tea, and prayer service. The most raucous thing on the schedule is a concert by Tony Bennett. Add a tote bag and it'd be a PBS telethon. Indeed, the demographic-pleasing tenor of the events reeks of a self-conscious desire to highlight all soft-focus interest groups that come with the Pelosi package: Italian, female, Catholic, grandmother. With so many facets illuminated, perhaps Pelosi's people are hoping no one notices what's been left out: the only nod to Pelosi...
...Celebration, before they lend their still-expert chops to a medley of "Winter Wonderland" and "Let It Snow." At 71, Johnny is certainly the season's most consistent troubadour, having done Christmas albums in 1958, 1963, 1969, 1986 and 1993. Stick with the first, which matches Mathis' clear, confident tenor to a familiar batch of seasonals. A camp highlight is "Sleigh Ride," in which Johnny unleashes a falsetto, tres gay "Yoooo HOO!" The numbers get lush, warming orchestral support from the man whose very name embodies the propriety and piety of Christmas: Percy Faith...