D Magazine contributor Willard Spiegelman sure gets around. Today, he can be found in the Journal, where he critiques the architecture and setting of new performing arts center. While Willard looks at the outside, Journal opera critic Hollie Waleson focuses on what’s happening inside.
One nice benefit of having the nation’s major critics in town for the PAC opening is that Dallas opera music director Graeme Jenkins and his orchestra are finally getting the due they deserve after toiling for years in the sound-eating Music Hall. From Waleson’s review:
The most exciting musical experience came from the orchestra, expertly led by Mr. Jenkins. It filled the hall with a rich, full-bodied sound, whipped up the furious opening storm and projected melting, pianissimo tenderness in “Già nella notte.” The glittering antiphonal trumpets that heralded the arrival of the Venetian ambassador in Act III rang out brilliantly, and the plaintive woodwind opening passages of Act IV breathed out into the hall with warmth, definition and character.
