Opera for all (but mostly kids)

Child's play. Time Out Chicago. February 21, 2008. Soprano Linden Christ started her own opera company, called Opera Play-House, with the notion of it being an outreach vehicle, not a vanity project. Kind of cool.

I promise there will be more posts here soon, and not the one-per-week I seem to be stuck to at the moment. Until then, the Chicago Symphony announced its 2008-9 season yesterday (S-T here, Trib here, Update: Tonic Blotter here, Marc van Bree here with link to the CSO's new online press room [with image library!], official announcement here).

And Intermezzo has a big wrap-up of Daniel Barenboim's complete cycle of Beethoven's piano sonatas at the Royal Festival Hall here. Update: Jessica Duchen reports: "[T]he final phrase before the last deep trill of the introduction of Op.111 was a trio of French horns. Don't ask how he does it: I've no idea." My review of Barenboim's complete cycle on DVD from almost exactly one year ago is here, and a clip of Barenboim playing part of the "Appasionata" is here.