Subscribe now and win free tix on Continental!

Ars Lyrica Houston patrons and fans take note: if you subscribe to our 2009-10 season by June 15, you'll have a chance to win TWO FREE TICKETS ANYWHERE IN THE USA ON CONTINENTAL AIRLINES. Many thanks to our corporate sponsor, Continental Airlines, and the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts for making this generous offer possible. To subscribe: visit Ars Lyrica or call the Hobby Center box office at 713 315-2525. And do it today to get your chance at those free tickets on Continental!

MFAH Lecture on May 7

Yours truly gives a free lecture on Baroque Allegory -- with live music, thanks to sopranos Ava Pine and Melissa Givens -- at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston next Thursday, May 7, at 6:30 pm in the Brown Auditorium. For those who are planning on attending the May 10 Ars Lyrica performance of Handel's "Il Trionfo del Tempo" at the Hobby Center, this is an excellent opportunity to learn something about the work before experiencing it live. It's sensational music, and there's some very beautiful art to look at during the lecture as well, including this "Allegory of Prudence" by Luca Giordano.

Verdi Requiem as Concert-Drama

Tonight the Moores School offers an intriguing take on the Verdi Requiem. It's inspired by performances of the work given by prisoners in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II, and uses footage of interviews with survivors plus documentary clips from that era, including some fascinating though repellant propaganda. I attended the dress rehearsal last night and found the historical angle quite interesting, though the production was more like watching the History Channel than seeing a piece of musical theater. Dramatizations of major works are a challenge: the addition of new elements to a well-known score can either distract us from the music or add to our understanding of it...and I'm still sorting out which this is! I'd be interested to hear from readers what their views are, especially if they've seen the work.