Category: Chicago, IL
-
Small, storefront opera companies survive on agility, nerve and an unwavering commitment to their art form. They don’t pursue opera on a grand scale, which gives them a unique freedom. In Chicago, where “Off-Loop” theater has long flourished, Chicago City Opera recently demonstrated this spirit with a nimble, inventive double bill at the Fulton Street…
-
Though Giancarlo Guerrero is barely into his tenure as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Grant Park Orchestra, he has already signaled how he intends to shape this institution. The 2026 season has leaned into American music, a nod to both the country’s 250th anniversary and the festival’s Depression-era mission of accessibility and civic…
-
As August humidity settles over Chicago, the Rush Hour Concerts series at Holy Name Cathedral is drawing to a close. The format is simple: brief chamber music recitals designed to offer downtown-area workers an alternative to their usual rush hour commute. For its penultimate program of the season on August 11, the series brought together…
-
A friend called me the other day with a question we’re debating soon: What are the five essential classical albums everyone should own? No other constraints. Just five records that belong in your collection, whether they’re on a vinyl shelf or bookmarked in a streaming app. It’s a useful question because it forced me to…
-
Giancarlo Guerrero leads the Grant Park Orchestra in two performances of John Corigliano’s Symphony No. 1, paired with Mozart’s Requiem in a discerning program. Together, these two monumental pieces create a dialogue about mortality and loss. Though separated by two centuries, both works wrestle with the theme of untimely death: Corigliano’s symphony in its raw…
-
Here are two essays well worth your time if you’re looking for something excellent to read. The first is Garth Greenwell’s recap of his time at the Des Moines Metro Opera’s summer season. While most of the piece centers on King Roger and its distinctly queer presentation, it also dives into a larger question about…
-
For the nation’s 250th anniversary, Chicago’s Grant Park Orchestra has spent its summer festival surveying the American classical music tradition. The ensemble’s music directors have long possessed an appetite for discovery, unearthing obscure or overlooked corners of the repertoire. But the American works that have graced the Pritzker Pavilion in recent weeks suggest that this…
-
A belated note on Marin Alsop stepping down as Ravinia’s chief conductor. It’s not entirely unexpected. Hannah Edgar dives deeper in her piece for the Tribune. The news isn’t a shocker. The maestro hits 70 this year and juggles commitments in the US and Europe. Could the shifting artistic leadership at the CSO be a…
-
What draws a critic to one performance over another is entirely subjective. For me, it is sometimes the chance to hear a specific performer; other times, it is the opportunity to encounter a piece that is new, recently composed, or uniquely relevant to a city’s cultural life. When a concert promises both a compelling ensemble…