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Scorsese and Jagger

John Rockwell has his finger on the still-beating pulse of a theme in current cinema: the elderly singing rock ‘n roll. Whether as part of an inspirational community outreach (”Young at Heart”), or a Rolling Stones tour (Martin Scorsese’s “Shine a Light”), the age of the participants only serves to highlight the vitality and vigor of the music.

Sizwe Banzi is Dead

Commentator John Rockwell examines two recent performances of South Africana: Pieter-Dirk Uys’s “Elections and Erections” at Harvard and the revival of “Sizwe Banzi is Dead” at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and looks into his own role in the field some ten years ago while at the Lincoln Center Festival.

Sheu Fang-yi

Multiculturalism is heating up the dance communities, with performers of far-ranging descents bringing their traditions and styles to bear on our American scene. Commentator John Rockwell considers two excited cases: Taiwanese-born, Martha Graham-technique trained Fang-Yi Sheu and London-born, but of Bangladeshi-descent, Akram Khan.

In Europe they celebrate, in America we mourn. Commentator John Rockwell remarks a national tendency to promote cultural achievements in less-than-cheerful circumstances, whether after a critic’s divorce from its journal, or worse, after a musician’s divorce from… life. In this instance, John considers octogenarian music critic Alan Rich’s recent separation from The Village Voice and composer/conductor Gerhard Samuel’s recent passing.

Satyagraha

Go see it! Or such is the subtext, sometimes implicit, sometimes explicit, of commentator John Rockwell’s review of Philip Glass’s 1980 masterpiece, the opera Satyagraha, which has come to the Met in an exciting, puppet-filled production. The opera is based on the early travels in South Africa of Mahatma Ghandi and the formation of his philosophy of non-violent resistance and is in limited engagement here in New York.

The Bard of Avon

Thematic programming at concert series and festivals has always been a trick of the trade, but what does it really accomplish? Does it put a friendly, marketable face on unconnected elements or allow for mutually-enriching perspectives? Commentator John Rockwell considers the skeptical and the supportive sides, as he looks to the upcoming seasons of Glimmerglass Opera and Bard College.

Szot and O’Hara

After nearly 50 years without a Broadway production of this Pulitzer-prize winning, Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, Lincoln Center Theater ushers in its first Broadway revival with the vocal forces of Kelli O’Hara and Paulo Szot. Hear what commentator John Rockwell has to say, and find out why he gets teary-eyed throughout the performance.