A unanimous panel of the New York Appellate Division, 2nd Department, ruled on February 8 that the Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) in Northern Westchester County did not violate the County's Human Rights Ordinance when they extended domestic partnership benefits to same-sex partners of county employees but refused to extend the benefits to the unmarried different-sex partner of an employee. Reversing a decision by the County's Human Rights Commission in Matter of Putnam/Northern Westchester … <Read More>
Weekend Triple Header
This was a busy cultural weekend for me: Nixon in China, Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, and CBST's annual concert, this year titled "Spicy Tsimmes: Ethnic Flavors and Fusion From the Melting Pot of Israel."
The Metropolitan Opera finally presented John Adams' Nixon in China, which was premiered by the Houston Grand Opera in 1987 and has been performed all over the place in the interim. The production, directed by Peter Sellars, was borrowed from English National Opera, … <Read More>
The Eagle – The Movie
I haven't gone to the movies for a bit, as nothing playing in the theaters was enticing enough to stir me out. But I'm a sucker for sword and toga epics, so I had to see "The Eagle." It was worth the visit, I thought.
Channing Tatum plays a young centurion who asks to be sent to Britain for his first field command, in hopes of restoring the reputation of his family after his father, … <Read More>
The Wooster Group’s Version of Tennessee Williams’ “Vieux Carr
Last night I attended a performance of The Wooster Group's version of Tennessee Williams' play, "Vieux Carr
City Center Encores’ Presentation of “Lost in the Stars”
On Saturday I attended the matinee performance of City Center Encores' presentation of the musical "Lost in the Stars," by Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson. This show, first presented on Broadway in 1949, was based on the novel "Cry, The Beloved Country," by Alan Paton. It presents a vignette from pre-apartheid South Africa, in which a black minister and a white farmer ultimately become friends and reconcile with each other after the minister's son is … <Read More>
Scandinavian Interlude: Mattila & Nielsen at the NY Philharmonic
Tonight I caught the last performance of the New York Philharmonic's brief flirtation this season with musical Scandinavia, with the great Finnish soprano Karita Mattila singing Sibelius (and Beethoven) and the orchestra tackling, after a lapse of almost 40 years, Carl Nielsen's 2nd Symphony (The Four Temperaments). For a longtime fan of Nielsen's symphonies, this was really heavenly. In almost 40 years of regular concert-going, I can count the live performances of Nielsen symphonies I've … <Read More>
LGBT Legal Developments in 2010
Last week I participated as a speaker in a continuing legal education presented by the LGTB Law Association Foundation of Greater New York and the LGBT Affinity Group at Davis Polk, presenting a review of major LGBT legal developments during 2010. My co-panelists were Melissa Goodman of the New York Civil Liberties Union and Vice Dean and Professor Edward Stein of Cardozo Law School (Yeshiva University). I prepared a summary extracted from the newsletter I … <Read More>
U.S. Premiere of Alberic Magnard’s “Berenice” by Leon Botstein & the American Symphony Orchestra
Under Leon Botstein's leadership, the American Symphony Orchestra seeks out significant works that have not been played in the United States, gets parts prepared, gets soloists to learn them, and presents excellent concert performances. That was certainly the case this afternoon in Carnegie Hall when they presented the United States premiere of Alberic Magnard's opera, Berenice. The opera was written in 1909, premiered in 1911, and never made it to America, evidently, as the composer … <Read More>
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra at Carnegie Hall with Vadim Gluzman
Orpheus is the celebrated conductorless chamber orchestra, in which a core group of players works out the interpretation of each piece. It is also a fearless group that is ready to tackle the most intricate works that one would never guess could be performed without leadership from a podium, and produces flawless performances. Such was the case tonight in Carnegie Hall, as they went through a varied program of music by Schumann, Prokofiev, Penderecki and … <Read More>
“The Whipping Man” by Matthew Lopez at Manhattan Theatre Club
This afternoon I attended a preview performance of "The Whipping Man," a play by Matthew Lopez that is scheduled to open on February 1 at Manhattan Theatre Club (New York City Center Stage I). While it is "bad form" to review a preview performance, this one is so close to opening that I have no reservation in giving it my two thumbs up based on what I saw and heard this afternoon.
Inspired by a … <Read More>