WHITE NOISE
A collection of writings & thoughts
Shakespeare in Music
The subject that we’re about to consider this evening—Shakespeare in Music—is a topic so immense, so vast, so seemingly endless—that I feel compelled to state up front that in no way are we going to be able to approach exhausting even the mere cream of the crop of this most bountiful phenomenon. But before we get very specific, let’s address a more general artistic matter that bears greatly on our subject at hand. I’m speaking of the friendly aesthetic tension that exists between words and music…
Faust’s Youth Restored
Gounod’s Faust, as it has come down to us over the last century-and-a-half, is one of the most assuredly well-known works in the operatic canon. It is, furthermore, the most prominent musical adaptation of what was, by far, the most significant and influential dramatic literary work of the 19th century. For the first hundred years after its premiere in 1859, Faust was the most widely performed opera in the world…
Don Giovanni - An Interview
Conductor Steven White interviews himself about Don Giovanni:
SW: Thank you for taking the time to answer these few questions about Mozart’s great opera Don Giovanni. By the way, do you mind if I call you Steven, or do you prefer Maes—
SW: PLEASE do call me Steven…with a “v.” Thanks for asking…