Tanglewood

The opening night of Tanglewood saw the transformation of adversity into triumph. There was concern over the announcement that yet again maestro Jame Levine would miss the entire season due to chronic health issues. As the opening night of Mahler's Symphony No. 2 in C minor amply demonstrated Michael Tilson Thomas proved to be far more than a substitute. He brought his unique vision and passion to the complex, eclectic and visceral symphony. With this performance the season in Lenox has been launched with magnificent confidence.

Although Tanglewood had some 60,000 visitors last weekend for Pops followed by three sold out concerts by James Taylor and Carole King the season officially opens this weekend. Which means that the Boston Symphony Orchestra is in residence until the end of August. Michael Tilson Thomas will conduct the orchestra in the absence of the ailing James Levine. Thomas was a Tanglewood Music Fellow in 1968 and 69. He will be joined by two other TMC fellows soprano Layla Claire and mezzo soprano Stephanie Blythe.

The Berkshire season was launched in a sensational manner with three sold out Tanglewood performances by James Taylor and fellow singer/ songwriter, the legendary Carole King. They shared music, memories and intimate moments during concerts that averaged two and a half hours. Fans who bought lawn tickets last winter were rewarded by a gorgeous summer evening under the stars.

For the past few years I have been getting a lot more out of Tanglewood concerts by attending the lectures at the Lenox Library. On Friday and Saturday afternoons, from 2:30 to 4 PM, the music to be performed is discussed with recorded intervals by Professor Jeremy Yudkin. He brings zest, charm and enthusiasm to the experience. It allows me to listen more attentively and enjoy the concerts by a world class orchestra and its renowned conductors.

On Friday night of the Fourth of July weekend, with three sold out concerts by James Taylor and Carole King, Tanglewood got off to a slow start with Pops. There was a relatively sparse turnout. Too bad for those who missed the Tanglewood debut of the Tony Award winning singer Idina Menzel. She thrilled the audience with hits from Rent and Wicked. Doc Severinsen was typically attired in an outlandish outfit as he squeaked a few toots on trumpet. Keith Lockhart conducted a 125th anniversary salute to Pops.

The Mark Morris Dance Group performed Sunday at Tanglewood. They will perform there again tonight (Monday) at 8 p.m. at Ozawa Hall. Mark Morris has terrific taste in music. What does this have to do with his choreography? Everything. Morris is like a world-class chef.

Sweeney Todd, the masterpiece of the now 80-year-old genius, and Williams grad, Stephen Sondheim, is given a state of the art, Broadway level production at Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield. With no compromise on artistic integrity this is stunning musical theatre in an intimate setting. We enjoy signifiying, titubating performances and magnificent music up close and personal at a fraction of Broadway ticket prices. This is Berkshire theatre at its finest.

Everything is coming up roses for the North Shore Music Theatre, because they are back in business. They reopen with Vicki Lewis in the smash musical GYPSY. Vicki is most remembered for her five seasons playing Beth on the NBC sitcom “NewsRadio.” She also appeared on “Seinfeld” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” GYPSY is a Broadway classic and a multi award-winning musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Arthur Laurents.

The scheduled appearance by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel at Tanglewood on July 27 has been cancelled. Art Garfunkel continues to recover from a vocal paresis. The tour was originally planned to start in April. It was then shifted to July. Now it is postponed indefinitely. Garfunkel is expected to recover but not in time for the summer concerts. With James Levine out for the season this is the second Tanglewood cancellation in less than a week. There is speculation about how these cancellations will impact tourism and the hospitality industry.

In April James Levine, the artistic director of Boston Symphony Orchestra and Metropolitan Opera, underwent back surgery. While he planned a season for Tangelwood he has now withdrawn from the program. It is hoped that he will recover in time for the fall seasons of the BSO and Met. This is a repeat of his absence from Tanglewood following surgery after the opening concerts in 2008. Given chronic health issues there is speculation about his long term role in Boston and New York. Renowned conductors will fill the vacant slots in Lenox this season.

.The music of Cole Porter bubbled like champagne at Symphony Hall. Keith Lockhart conducted in a thoroughly enjoyable evening of Pops. He was joined by Broadway stars including Kelli O’Hara, Jason Danieley and Matthew Anderson.

Free concerts in New York with A list talent can be found if you look, and one of the best venues to scour is Town Hall's. Here on Sunday, for free, lucky listeners got to hear Stephanie Blythe accompanied by Warren Jones. Blythe opens Tanglewood's season in Mahler's Second Symphony on July 9th.

The New York Philharmonic presents performances of György Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre by the composer who joined forces with Richard Strauss in the score of Space Odyssey:2001. Kudos for recent productions in London, Paris, Adelaide and Rome suggest the performances will be SRO. The work combines 15th century music, breadth of line, puppetry, adventures musical and otherwise.At Avery Fisher Hall on May 27, 28 and 29.

The Longwood Symphony Orchestra which is made up of medical professionals will perform at Ozawa Hall in Lenox for the first time. The Boston Jewish Film Festival ENCORES AND MORE will be staged at the Museum of Fine Arts through June 27. Don't miss The Great American Trailer Park Musical at Speakeasy Stage.

The Fifth Annual Richie duPont Award Benefit will take place at 8 pm Saturday, May 22, at Firefly on Church Street in Lenox. What began in 2006 as a memorial to Richie duPont, a promising young actor lost in his prime, will be a celebration of his life at a party to raise funds for awards for budding local thespians to attend Berkshire Theatre Festival’s summer and school vacation acting camps.

The launch of the Fourth of July arts season in the Berkshires will be like an explosion in a fireworks factory. There has never been a greater offering of superb and diverse performances. While three days of James Taylor and Carole King at Tanglewood sold out ages ago there are many other top options. Mass MoCA is going head to head with Tanglewood on Friday night. It has Richie Havens vs. The Pops. Barrington Stage and Williamstown Theatre Festival will duke it out with dueling Sondheim musicals. There is a ton of stuff at Shakespeare & Company including the opening of John Douglas Thompson in Richard III. Jacobs Pillow and Berkshire Theatre Festival are in the mix. We offer a complete rundown.

James Levine has given so much joy and musical pleasure during his tenure at the Metropolitan Opera. A musician of the highest order, we have all appreciated his insights. No one can replace him. But Fabio Luisi, a classically trained conductor who started as a pianist and accompanist, clearly can convey composers' intent and musicians' best efforts. He will start his new position at the Met this fall. Berkshire Fine Arts has covered him this season.

Acclaimed actors Robert De Niro, Ed Harris, and Morgan Freeman give life to the words of John, Robert, and Edward Kennedy, respectively, when they join conductor Keith Lockhart, the Boston Pops Orchestra, and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus for the world premiere performance of The Dream Lives On: A Portrait of the Kennedy Brothersâ€"the centerpiece of the Boston Pops 125th anniversary season celebrationâ€"on May 18, at 8 p.m. (repeated on May 19), at Symphony Hall in Boston, MA

Celebrating the 8oth Birthday of God, AKA Stephen Sondheim, there are many productions for audiences to chose from. The biography and review, with Sondheim appearing in video clips, Sondheim on Sondheim, has opened on Broadway. It features a lively cast headlining Barbara Cook, Vanessa Williams and Tom Wopat. In the Berkshires productions of Sweeney Todd will open at Barrington Stage Company while A Funny Thng Happened on the Way to the Forum will be presented at Williamstown Theatre Company. The dueling musicals open on Fourth of July weekend.

Roll Over Beethoven. Yes, rock is coming back to Tanglewood this summer. Well, kindah, with Crosby, Stills and Nash on September 1. Mid season jazz pianist Herbia Hancock will appear on August 9.

On paper the Boston Symphony Orchestra has planned a full and ambitious season. October 2, when James Levine leads an all-Wagner program with Bryn Terfel on opening night, we will know whether this is wishful thinking. The health of the 66 year Levine impacts not just the BSO but the Metropolitan Opera and the coming season at Tanglewood. For the past three years there has been a scramble to find conductors for concerts he has dropped out of. This grueling schedule assumes his full recovery from yet another surgery,

Rock fans in the Berkshires just got a shot in the arm. Wilco, the Chicago band that blew the roof off of Tanglewood two summers ago, will give two performances at Mass MoCA during the Solid Sound Festival from August 13-15. Far out. The weekend of music, art, and interactive events will feature Wilco's only East Coast performance this summer.

The Boston Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall performed Mendelssohn's glorious oratorio, Elijah. It was presented with a cast worthy of Cecil B. de Mille. It featured the orchestra, a chorus of 110 voices, four principal soloists and five ensemble soloists. The musician count does not itself make a memorable evening, but this one surely did. Maestro de Burgos, substituted for an ailing James Levine.

In 2008, with $8 million in debt and missed payments, Berkshire Bank initiated foreclosure on Edith Wharton's Lenox estate The Mount. Under executive director, Susan Wissler, that debt has been reduced to $5.1 million with an annual budget of $2 million. The Mount is about to launch a new season with expanded programming. While The Mount is back on track it faces daunting challenges.

The San Francisco Symphony presented the premier of Post-Scriptum by Victor Kissine, which brought the house down. This was followed by Christian Tetzlaff playing Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D Major with intelligence and passion.