Angela Allen

Angela Allen writes about the arts, especially opera, jazz, chamber music, and photography. Since 1984, she has contributed regularly to online and print publications, including Oregon ArtsWatch, The Columbian, The San Diego Union-Tribune, Willamette Week, The Oregonian, among others. She teaches photography and creative writing to Oregon students, and in 2009, served as Fishtrap’s Eastern Oregon Writer-in-Residence. A published poet and photographer, she was elected to the Music Critics Association of North America’s executive board and is a recipient of an NEA-Columbia Journalism grant. She earned an M.A. in journalism from University of Oregon in 1984, and 30 years later received her MFA in Creative Writing/Poetry from Pacific Lutheran University. She lives in Portland with her scientist husband and often unwieldy garden. Contact Angela Allen through her website.

In Seattle, a ‘Magic Flute’ with bells and whistles

Mozart's marvelous, 233-year-old fantasy gets a colorful and brightly animated contemporary update at Seattle Opera.

Jazz Fest, week 2: Hanging around with Jovino Santos at The Old Church

The Brazilian-American pianist-flutist-composer and his quintet performed a spontaneous set to an enthusiastic audience.

Jazz Fest, week 1: A feast of sound from Terence Blanchard to Jimmie Herrod and much more

Despite some cancellations and a postponement by Erykah Badu, this year's festival has been flooding the city with terrific and widely varied sounds in 35 venues around town.

Magician status: Wu Han and David Finckel’s evening of “Russian Revelry”

Chamber Music Northwest hosted the pianist and cellist performing music of Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, and Myaskovsky.

More colors, more timbres, more palette: 45th Parallel Universe premieres new Andy Akiho composition at The Reser

The Oregon composer’s new chamber piece “Copper Variations” was featured in a concert of contemporary classical music alongside works by Steve Reich, Philip Glass, and Daniel Wohl.

Togetherness counts: The Florestan Trio returns to The Old Church

The Portland trio–pianist Janet Guggenheim, violinist Carol Sindell, and cellist Hamilton Cheifetz–performed an evening of Mendelssohn, Haydn, and Beethoven.

The piano ain’t got no wrong notes: Aaron Diehl Trio at The Reser

The jazz pianist, with bassist David Wong and drummer Aaron Kimmel, performed a set of originals and uncommon tunes by Jobim, Monk, and Shorter.

Utterly in charge: Chamber Music Northwest directors (current and former) Gloria Chien, Soovin Kim, and David Shifrin

The trio–piano, violin, clarinet–opened CMNW’s non-summer season with music by Brahms, Bartók, Stravinsky, and Ravel.

All the small things we can be grateful for: Magos Herrera and Vinicius Gomes at The Old Church

The Mexican singer and Brazilian guitarist performed songs from Herrera’s recent albums.

A powerful poetic punch: Portland Opera premieres Dmae Lo Roberts and Kenji Oh’s ‘Shizue: An American Story’

After a short run at the Brunish Theatre, Portland Opera To Go will take the internment-themed opera to schools across Oregon and Southwest Washington.

Harrowing and uncomfortable: “The Handmaid’s Tale” at San Francisco Opera

Poul Ruders and Paul Bentley’s setting of the Margaret Atwood classic, running at SFO through Oct. 1, offered many disturbing moments and little peace.

A window into his quicksilver mind: A post Willamette Valley Chamber Music Festival conversation with Kevin Day

Talking about growing up with gospel and hip-hop, composing string quartets and opera, playing tuba, and the spontaneity of composition with this year’s WVCMF composer-in-residence.

Keeping life and memory alive: OrpheusPDX’s production of David Hertzberg’s “The Rose Elf”

The dark, haunting opera starred Lisa Marie Rogali and Madeline Ross in a setting of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale.

Charming cocoon of love: OrpheusPDX’s intimate production of Handel’s “Acis, Galatea & Polyphemus”

Katherine Whyte, Hannah Penn, and Douglas Williams shone in the English Baroque composer’s colorful, Italian-drenched opera.

Staying alive: Sandbox Percussion and Soovin Kim premiere Joan Tower’s “To Sing or Dance” at Chamber Music Northwest

CMNW co-commissioned the venerated American composer’s “conversation” for violin and percussion quartet.

A sonic gift: Sandbox Percussion premieres John Luther Adams’ “Prophecies of Fire” at Chamber Music Northwest

The percussion quartet, whom Adams considers “the foremost interpreters of my music,” dazzled a surround-sound audience at Kaul Auditorium before repeating the feat at Oregon Bach Festival.

Turn your silvered sail toward the light: Eric Whitacre at Oregon Bach Festival

The choral composer and conductor, artist-in-residence at this year’s OBF, performed his radiant “The Sacred Veil,” a collaboration with Charles Anthony Silvestri in memory of Silvestri’s late wife.

Surprising Bach: Organist Paul Jacobs at Oregon Bach Festival

The reigning king of organ performed J.S. alongside Damien Geter, Lowell Liebermann, and Saint-Saëns.

Mel Bochner at The Schnitzer Collection

'Mel Bochner: Words Mean Everything' is on view in the new gallery space at NW Yeon. Angela Allen sits down with Jordan Schnitzer to discuss the new show, the gallery space, and his vision for his art collection.

Love affairs require some care: PSU Opera’s production of “The Merry Widow”

The refreshing English-language student production of Franz Lehár’s playful opera moved the action to 1960s Paris and added a few fresh feminist twists.

Persistence reborn: Resonance Ensemble with composer Darrell Grant, writer A. Mimi Sei, and Oregon Remembrance Project’s Taylor Stewart

The March 17 concert featured commissioned work by Grant and Sei alongside music by Joel Thompson, Rosephayne Powell, and regular Resonance collaborator Melissa Dunphy.

A conduit to the heart: Portland Opera’s production of “The Snowy Day”

The family-friendly opera by composer Joel Thompson and librettist Andrea Davis Pinkney was premiered in 2021 Houston and runs in Portland through March 24.

PDX Jazz Festival 2024: Local musicians Lo Steele, Methods Body, and greaterkind held their own

This year’s festival of “Black American Music” featured hot touring artists and returning Oregonians alongside up-and-coming new locals.

“X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X” at Seattle Opera

SO co-produced the revival of the 1986 Anthony Davis opera, revised and re-premiered in 2022 by Detroit Opera.

Moments of companionship: Saxophonist Donny McCaslin and the Blackstar Symphony perform David Bowie’s final album with Oregon Symphony

McCaslin, also the touring show’s artistic director, discusses his time recording with the singer and working to bring “Blackstar” to the symphony.

Lifesize Bright: Dan Balmer’s latest album ‘When the Night’

The Oregon jazz guitarist discusses his background, his love for Pat Metheny and for education, and his new album on Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble Records.

Forever and ever, amen: Handel’s ‘Messiah’ with Portland Baroque Orchestra, Cappella Romana, Enrico Lagasca, Camille Ortiz, Hannah Penn, John Reese, and guest conductor John Butt

The evergreen seasonal oratorio received a stellar complete performance from choir, soloists, and period instruments at First Baptist Church.

Magic and logic, working together: PSU Opera’s charming production of Evan Meier and E.M. Lewis’ ‘Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Fallen Giant’

Cast and crew from Portland State’s School of Music & Theater gave the staged premiere of Meier and Lewis’ opera with style.

‘Performance is 100 percent integrated with movement’: Violist Paul Laraia and the Catalyst Quartet at The Old Church

The Grammy-nominated quartet’s “¡Viva la Música!” program November 30 (part of their CMNW residency) made the most of the group’s Latin roots, featuring music by Paquito D’Rivera and Astor Piazzolla alongside Ravel, Gershwin, and Shaw.

Unspeakably sad yet somehow uplifting: San Francisco Opera’s ‘Omar’

The Pulitzer-winning opera by Rhiannon Giddens & Michael Abels makes its way across the country.