Students in the Pillow's ballet program honored the future with a first-rate performance of a new work by Wayne Eagling, which began the evening.
Many years ago, one of the great pleasures of summer was taking a picnic dinner to the lovely waterfront property of the Shakespeare Festival Theater at Stratford, being entertained by the strolling minstrels and afterward seeing a first-rate performance of one of Shakespeare's plays.
The brilliant young American cellist Alisa Weilerstein, whom I had not heard since 2009 when she took part in Classical Music Day at the White House, was the compelling soloist in a first-rate performance of Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 1. Again, playing with incisive rhythm and crisp articulation is not this orchestra's strong suit.
This may be a part of the reason why one so seldom hears a really first-rate performance of Delius's work, save under Mr. Beecham".
Simplicity was the key to the first-rate performances of Ashley Tuttle and Angel Corella on Saturday night.
The dancers of American Ballet Theater turned in generally first-rate performances of "Swan Lake" on Monday and Wednesday nights at the Metropolitan Opera House.
Listening to first-rate performances of a vast repertory depends no longer on sight-reading abilities but on the less demanding tasks of switch flipping and dial twiddling.
Irina Brown's atmospheric production, with a thunderous sound design by Duncan Chave, boasts a first-rate performance by one of Britain's most under-sung actresses, Paola Dionisotti.
Easter afternoon brought a first-rate performance at Salle Pleyel of Bach's "St.
"Runes" received a first-rate performance from a cast of 11 that also included Karla Wolfangle, Elie Chaib, looking like a mauling tiger at one point, Francie Huber, Christopher Gillis, Patrick Corbin and Cathy McCann.
Thus the response to my description of The Apostles as "second rate" (regardless of a first-rate performance by the Hallé on Friday night) drew the following riposte from sirhubert: Of course it has a few dull spots - what great work doesn't?
