“Anthony Roth Costanzo was never just going to step onstage and sing,” writes Joshua Barone in Wednesday’s (1/26) New York Times. “Instead, as the New York Philharmonic’s artist in residence, this countertenor is planning a series of events—beginning Thursday and continuing through the spring. His festival, ‘Authentic Selves: The Beauty Within,’ … includes premieres as well as recastings of classic repertory; and brings the queer joy of ‘Only an Octave Apart,’ his show with the cabaret artist Justin Vivian Bond, into the concert hall…. [In 2020] over Zoom cocktails with Deborah Borda, the Philharmonic’s chief executive, he began to shape an idea that became Bandwagon: pop-up concerts from a pickup truck that doubled as community engagement programs and … a voter-registration drive…. ‘Authentic Selves’ also includes premieres by Joel Thompson and Gregory Spears … the Philharmonic’s first performances of work by the posthumously rediscovered composer Julius Eastman; and a series of talks and community events…. Borda said that, while Costanzo should stay onstage as long as it’s comfortable, ‘when I see a talent like that, he should be running an opera company or an orchestra.’ … Costanzo said, … ‘I’m most interested in where I can have impact.’ ”
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