Paul Bowles News
American composer and writer (1910–1999)
- opera, novel, theatre, poetry
- United States of America
- writer, composer, translator, music critic, photographer
Last update
2024-03-28
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2023-10-10 06:41:00
John Findon takes the title role in ENO's magnificent revival of David Alden's production of Britten's Peter Grimes
Britten: Peter Grimes - English National Opera (Photo: Tom Bowles)Britten:Peter Grimes; John Findon, Elizabeth Llewellyn, Simon Bailey, Christine Rice, director: David Alden, Martyn Brabbins; English National OperaReviewed by Tony Cooper, 6 October 2023David Alden’s production of Britten’s Peter Grimes has been a big success for English National Opera. A five-star job, really, long may it stay in the repertoireDue to the unavailability of Gwyn Hughes Jones, the pivotal role of Peter Grimes fell to British tenor, John Findon, who fitted so well the sea boots of this lone and anguished fisherman. Partly written in America during the Second World War where Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears were escaping war-torn Britain on a pacifist ticket, Peter Grimes was premièred by Sadler’s Wells Opera (later to become English National Opera) at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, Islington, on 7 June 1945, conducted by Reginald Goodall with Peter Pears in the title-role. First seen in St […]
2023-06-25 08:29:00
Classical music does not have a monopoly on master musicians
[…] Master Musicians have been the official Moroccan court musicians and the sound of their distinctive oboe-like double reed rhaitas accompanied the Sultan's progress to the Friday mosque. Their performance tradition may predate even Sufism and the eminent Finnish sociologist Edvard Westermarck (1862-1939) suggested that the Master Musicians' wild music has its roots in ancient Greek Dionysian rituals. The transition from ancient to modern cultural icons came when Brion Gysin, whose circle included Paul Bowles and William Burroughs, hired the Master Musicians in 1954 to play in his legendary Tangier restaurant The 1001 Nights. Gysin's attention had been drawn to the Jajouka musicians by his friend the Moroccan artist Mohamed Hamri and when the Rolling Stones visited Tangier in 1967 Gysin took Brian Jones to Jajouka. The result was the album that started the world music bandwagon rolling and which also set the Master Musicians on a collision course […]
2021-08-25 23:30:00
[…] includes Natalie Mendoza as Satine, Tony Award nominee Aaron Tveit as Christian, Tony Award nominee Danny Burstein as Harold Zidler, Tony and Olivier Award nominee Sahr Ngaujah as Toulouse-Lautrec, Tam Mutu as The Duke of Monroth, Ricky Rojas as Santiago and Tony Award nominee Robyn Hurder as Nini. Ashley Loren is the Satine Alternate. The cast includes Jacqueline B. Arnold, Holly James, Jeigh Madjus, Joe Beauregard, Keely Beirne, Giovanni Bonaventura, Olutayo Bosede, Maya Bowles, Kyle Brown, Sam J. Cahn, Bobby Daye, Mia DeWeese, Karli Dinardo, Tilly Evans-Krueger, Aaron C. Finley, Bahiyah Hibah, Ericka Hunter, Cameron Mitchell Jackson, Tasia Jungbauer, Jose-Luis Lopez Jr., Reed Luplau, Kara Menendez, Kaitlin Mesh, Fred Odgaard, Dylan Paul, Khori Michelle Petinaud, Benjamin Rivera, Julius Anthony Rubio and Brandon Stonestreet. Ricky Rojas is appearing with the support of Actors' Equity Association. The producers gratefully acknowledge Actors' Equity Association […]
2021-04-28 07:16:50
Wild Blue Yonder: new disc of chamber music by Eleanor Alberga
[…] No-man's land Lullaby (1997) and The Wild Blue Yonder (1995). Often, composer-led discs can end up being a semi-random assemblage of achievable recordings (and I speak from experience here), but despite the changes wrought by 2020, Alberga's programme on the disc has a rather satisfying shape and the four pieces work together as a whole, but I do hope that we get to hear the missing works in the not so distant future! As Thomas Bowles (violinist on the disc and Alberga's husband) writes, the album can be heard as a journey of several encounters in the realm of sleep and dreams, ranging from demons, comforters, guardian angels and more impish spirits. We begin with No-man's-land Lullaby for violin and piano. Written in 1996, the piece was partly inspired by visiting Central Europe and seeing the beauty of a landscape which had played host to two world wars. Paul […]
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