The cauliflower beignets in an appetizer of caramelized sea scallops were adorable, but they were playing cameos in a dish whose stars turned in dutiful, forgettable performances.
With little counterpoint or traditional musical drama, the "Vespers" is such an austere work that in dutiful singsong performances by the likes of the Robert Shaw Chorale it can be dull and annoying to anyone not steeped in the rituals and melodies of Russian Orthodoxy.
The procrastinators (low focus, low energy) dutifully perform routine tasks but fail to take initiative, raise performance levels, or engage with strategy.
Although they dutifully perform routine tasks—attending meetings, writing memos, making phone calls, and so on they fail to take initiative, raise the level of performance, or engage with strategy.
Still, there was something dutiful about the performance, as if he were beginning his recital with a sublime late Beethoven score to prove his musicianship and depth.
There was nothing studied, nothing dutiful in a performance etched in dark, ample, resonant tone and articulated with awesome virtuosity.
Though her playing was admirable for its refinement and directness, there was something dutiful about her performances, particularly her account of the Schumann.
Well, fine, I'm a dutiful dad enduring the performance and they are children indulging a childlike taste.
For those of us who find that the usual solemnity of uptown theatergoing often turns the excitement of live performance into dutiful ritual, the atmosphere is refreshing.
