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Archive for the ‘Music’ Category

This week’s Top Pick: A peek into the Orchestra Pit

This week’s Cultural Cocktail recipe double includes: a double shot of Mozart, a chaser of Chausson, and a dose of Dohnanyi.  PITTANCE CHAMBER MUSIC First concert of their 2016/17 inaugural season Sunday, October 9th  3 p.m. Featuring: Members of the L.A. Opera Orchestra: Roberto Cani, Violin;  Jessica Guideri, Violin Ana Landauer, Violin;  Yi Zhou, Viola; John Walz, Cello; Rowena Hammill, Cello; Stuart Clark, Clarinet;  Steven Becknell, French Horn; Domingo Colburn Stein Young Artist Summer Hassan, Soprano; Paul Floyd, Piano MOZART: Clarinet Quintet; MOZART: aria “L’amero saro costante;” CHAUSSON: Chanson Perpetuellel DOHNANYI: Sextet Op. 37 Eva and Marc Stern Grand Hall. Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.
135 North Grand Avenue, LA, CA 90012 For more information on tickets, please visit: http://pittancechambermusic.org Photo Credit: Brenden-John Photography From the Pittance Chamber Music Website: “A Pittance/ Denizens of underworld/A cavern for a stage/Invisible to all but those Who peer into the

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This week’s Top Pick: Pageant of the Masters, Laguna Beach

Painting +Music+ Dance + History= An entertaining Cultural Cocktail Top Pick! All Photography© 2016 Leticia Marie Sanchez

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Angels Vocal Art: A refreshing dose of opera in the summer

By Leticia Marie Sanchez During the summer, many LA opera lovers may feel pangs of withdrawal, the sense that autumn is too many weeks away to wait for the thrill of hearing an aria live. Cultural Cocktail Hour has discovered a cure for those craving an opera fix. Angels Vocal Art represents the only opera festival in Los Angeles this summer and last weekend presented the Gran Gala di Verdi at the State Playhouse Theater. Angels Vocals Arts allows emerging singers to perform alongside opera professionals, and on Saturday night, young students poured their hearts and souls into the works of the timeless maestro, Giuseppe Verdi. Moreover, the Verdi Chorus anchored the evening with the solemnity of seasoned performers. I will leave you with the resounding motto of the Verdi Chorus, included in the evening’s program: “We are The judgment of

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In honor of World Music Day today- June 21st

 Seen on a Pillow in Los Angeles:

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Photos: Season Finale- Salon de Musiques: Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

  Photos taken at the Season Finale of the Salon De Musiques at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion   by Leticia Marie Sanchez Music has a healing power, and, in the wake of tragedies in the headlines, I felt particularly hopeful after listening to the uplifting program by Fanny Mendelssohn, Clara Schumann, and Robert Schumann at the Salon De Musiques Season Finale on June 12th. As Thomas Carlyle once remarked, music “leads us to the edge of the infinite, and lets us for a moment gaze into that.” Through the talented direction of Founder Francois Chouchan, the Salon embodied the restorative capacity and deep humanity of a language that needs no words.     

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Review: “Made in L.A” by the Los Angeles Master Chorale

Passport to the Human Soul: LA Master Chorale’s Made in LA By Leticia Marie Sanchez LA Master Chorale’s Made in LA provided audiences with a passport to the human soul. The diverse program not only allowed concertgoers to experience distinct cultures, but also transported them on a journey to understand the human condition in all its complexity: solitude, pain, love and redemption. Prior to the concert, LA Master Chorale’s Artistic Director, Grant Gershon announced that in light of the recent tragic current events, the concert was a “response to nihilism;” the evening’s program was dedicated to “victims of hate around the world.” Made in LA opened with Morten Lauridsen’s Ave Maria, an uplifting antidote to violence, a work of art that brings us closer to celestial realm. The piece invokes the Virgin Mary, a figure who symbolizes one who has transcended

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A little intermezzo for your weekend

  Beyond Exquisite: Riccardo Muti conducting the “Intermezzo” from Cavalleria Rusticana ♫  

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Review: LA Opera’s “Lucia di Lammermoor”- Standout Albina Shagimuratova- Do not miss

 Review: LA Opera’s “Lucia di Lammermoor” Albina Shagimuratova delivers a A Standout Performance-  by Leticia Marie Sanchez LA Opera’s “Lucia Di Lammermoor” epitomizes everything that an opera should be: scenes of unrequited passion, arias between star-crossed lovers, and most importantly- a stellar, unsurpassed voice that rouses the audience at every turn. Albina Shagimuratova is by far the most gifted female singer to have performed on the LA Opera stage in recent memory. Photo, Left Albina Shagimuratova as Lucia di Lammermoor, Photo Credit: Robert Millard Singing Bel Canto Opera, particularly in a role like Lucia, is like swimming in the ocean without a life vest- the singer is completely exposed. Thankfully, Albina Shagimuratova and the entire cast of Lucia have the vocal chops to carry out their roles. A force of nature, Albina truly carried the opera with her undeniable talent. Range,

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Backstage at LA Opera’s “Lucia di Lammermoor”- Madness, Police, and Daft Punk, Oh My!

Cultural Cocktail Hour had the opportunity to go backstage at LA Opera and explore the upcoming production of Gaetano Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. There, French musician and composer Thomas Bloch, a worldwide specialist in the Glass Harmonica, introduced the press to this rare instrument, which adds a pivotal, haunting sound to the famous “Mad Scene” in Lucia. Bloch performed this instrument, even giving Maestro James Conlon an impromptu lesson. Photo Left: Thomas Bloch teaching James Conlon the finer points of the Glass Harmonica. LA Opera. Photo © 2014 by Leticia Marie Sanchez  10 Facts About the Glass Harmonica  Donizetti originally wrote a Glass Harmonica into the score for the 1st performance of Lucia. The musician who was supposed to perform the Glass Harmonica on opening night had not been paid and refused to perform. At the last minute, Donizetti had to rewrite

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Review: “Billy Budd” at LA Opera

Hanging… Onto the Edge of Your Seat   LA Opera’s Billy Budd by Leticia Marie Sanchez  LA Opera’s Billy Budd in a word? Intense. Three standing ovations. The opening night of Billy Budd provoked rousing enthusiasm from the crowd. When even the villain elicits fanatical cheers, you know that something has gone incredibly right. Liam Bonner as Billy Budd. (Photo: Robert Millard) Firstly, the set. The formidable chorus of sailors resembles a powerful tableau vivant. Producer Francesca Zambella stipulated that the set not include a ship, and yet the oceanic allusions, through Alison Chitty’s simple yet evocative bold blue motif correspond with the subtle, nuanced undercurrents in Benjamin Britten‘s score. It is no secret that James Conlon has championed the twentieth- century British composer by leading the centennial tribute, Britten 100/LA. Conlon’s deep love for the music was evident on Billy Budd’s opening

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