Staircases is an unusual and interesting show currently being presented at Trinity St. Paul’s by Tafelmusik. The show is the brainchild of Alison Mackay collaborating with baritone Jonathan Woody. Who knew a “simple” set of stairs could carry so many meanings? We are taken from ceremonial staircases at Versailles and the Vatican to the banks of the frozen Thames to the hidden meanings of the Monument to the Great Fire and more to a most surprising conclusion. All of this rooted in the idea of the rock staircase on Mount Parnassus that leads to the home of Apollo and the Muses.
Here are some upcoming shows for April:
The new recording of Handel’s Alcina from Marc Minkowski, Les musiciens du Louvre and a rather starry line up of soloists is very good and quite interesting. It’s very complete. As far as I can tell all the ballet/dance music is included and so are all the Oberto scenes and all his arias. In all the staged performances I’ve seen (live or video) one or both are usually heavily truncated and I have seen versions where Oberto doesn’t feature at all.
operaramblings 