Book Review: Said On Opera by Edward Said

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

In a gratifying instance of musical synchronicity, I was listening to Les Troyens when I encountered The New York Times’ August 6 feature about Hector Berlioz. The opera is the subject of an essay in Said on Opera. The recently published collection of the late Palestinian intellectual Edward Said‘s opera commentary compelled me to investigate a work I hadn’t previously heard.

As Said and the author of The New York Times piece suggest, Les Troyens has always been denigrated partly because it’s decidedly odd. Their insights make navigating the peculiarities of Berlioz less troublesome.

Said on Opera also includes considerations of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Così fan tutte (Alfonso is underappreciated) Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fidelio (initial drafts are superior to the final version) and Richard Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. (his antisemitism isn’t disqualifying). Reading the excellent Said on Opera is almost as engrossing as listening to the works.

Concert Review: Anthony Roth Constanzo at the Folly Theater

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

Anthony Roth Costanzo censured himself at the Folly Theater on Saturday, December 18, after explaining that he and pianist Bryan Wagorn “met when we were nobodies.”  After surveying the largely empty house, the countertenor exclaimed “we’re still nobodies!”

In truth, Constanzo is one of the world’s biggest opera stars.  His celebrated turn in the title role of Philip Glass’ Akhnaten is among his prominent achievements.  Yet he attracted what appeared to be less than 300 people in his Kansas City debut.  

I took advantage of Midwestern indifference by purchasing a discounted front row seat to the concert on Cyber Monday.  Positioned just 20 feet from the unamplified countertenor, I considered reaching for the earplugs I always carry with me.  

The diminutive Costanzo applied startling heft to his piercing instrument.  He and Wagorn repeatedly paused during a gorgeous reading of a Hector Berlioz song cycle to permit echoes of Costanzo’s powerful voice in the piano’s soundboard to reverberate.

A revealing interpretation of George Gershwin’s “The Man I Love” allowed me to hear the standard in an entirely new way.  A pair of compositions he recently commissioned in his position as the current Artist-In-Residence of The New York Philharmonic were no less engaging.

Costanzo admitted his feelings are hurt when he’s asked if he’d prefer to have a “real voice.”  He demonstrated his facility with voices of all types during a fascinating master class at Grant Recital Hall the next day.   Even in the unglamorous setting, Costanzo shone like a certifiable celebrity.