“Fresh from intermission Thursday night at Symphony Hall, Robert Spano, music director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, strode across the stage, bounded onto the podium and immediately conjured up a churning theme in the cellos and basses, nestled under a dark viola tremolo, evoking a raging thunderstorm,” writes Jon Ross in Saturday’s (6/3) Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “More than an hour later, after conducting through the storm, fits of operatic passion and the euphoric reunion of long-lost siblings during the first act of Richard Wagner’s ‘Die Walküre,’ Spano crumpled off his podium, seeming, for a moment, like he was tapped out of energy…. Spano is a noted Wagnerian…. He previously conducted the complete ‘Ring’ for the Seattle Opera in 2005 and 2009…. While the symphony has programmed Wagner in the past, it’s a wonder Atlanta audiences have only caught infrequent glimpses of Spano’s ‘Ring.’ … Thursday, in a concert setting, soprano Twyla Robinson, tenor Clifton Forbis and bass Daniel Sumegi navigated an exposition-packed first act of ‘Die Walküre’ with minimal acting during the final series of the ASO’s 2016-2017 season.… Anchored by a legion of brass, the ensemble played the evocative music nimbly and with vigor.” Also on the program were Mark Buller’s The Songs of Ophelia and Benjamin Britten’s Four Sea Interludes.
Posted June 6, 2017
