San Diego Opera’s Thrilling ‘Rigoletto’

San Diego Opera opened a smart, vocally rich production Verdi’s “Rigoletto,” a classic gem of Grand Guignol theatrics Saturday, February 2, at San Diego Civic Theatre. Combining a large cast of stylish Verdian voices with Michael Cavanaugh’s sleek, tight direction, General Director David Bennett has clearly pleased everyone in the Civic Theatre audience . . .

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Matthew Aucoin and the San Diego Symphony Lift Up Music’s Future in Both Past and Present Modes

As the San Diego Symphony’s ambitious, engaging festival “Hearing the Future” takes its victory lap, Festival Curator Matthew Aucoin led the orchestra in an exuberant concert in Copley Symphony Hall Friday, January 25. His refreshing approach to program design completely ignored the traditional overture-concerto-symphony formula: each half of the concert offered seven shorter works or…

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Chamber Music on the Cutting Edge from Franz Joseph Haydn to Matthew Aucoin

“All music was new at one time,” quipped Matthew Aucoin Tuesday as he welcomed the audience to his “Hearing the Future” festival chamber music program in the Auditorium at TSRI. Following his festival theme, Aucoin chose pieces that were pivotal when they were written, displaying approaches that pointed to a musical future barely on the horizon.

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