For lovers of Robert Ashley's oeuvre, Concrete is a wonderfully revealing, even intimate experience. At first I missed the rigor of Ashley's earlier operas, but the improvisatory freedom of this work had its own rewards. Plus, Joan La Barbara = funny! More than that I can't say, because I'm reviewing the piece for The Wire. (Allan Kozinn's New York Times review is here.) Meanwhile, you've got three four more chances to see it for yourself.
I'll be in Texas this weekend, reviewing Waiting for the Barbarians at Austin Lyric Opera on Friday night, then spending the next three days with family and friends in Houston. Despite the ridiculous workload that's coming along with me, I'm feeling really happy about the notion of temporary escape.
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