Spotlight – September 2019

46

Fotos: Jiyang Chen; Belvedere Vienna, Koch Films

Spotlight 9/2019 ARTS

ARTS

Song, public space

and sculpture

Ein US-amerikanischer Tenor, eine Bücherei als Ort

der Auseinandersetzung und die Ansicht einer Künstlerin

zum menschlichen Dasein. Von EVE LUCAS^

MEDIUM

MUSIC | OPERA

Award-winning American tenor Michael Fabiano (born 1984)

has been delighting both the public and critics ever since he be-

gan singing on the world’s grand operatic stages about ten years

ago. The emotional depth that he brings to his roles has encour-

aged one critic to compare him to José Carreras.

Fabiano’s life and work are well documented on social media.

Musical competitions that give young artists the chance to kick-

start their careers are broadcast live nowadays. Fabiano was a

winner in the 2007 Metropolitan Opera National Council Audi-

tions and appeared in a documentary called The Audition, which

can be watched on YouTube. He’s never looked back. Fabiano

once considered a career in business and his artistic choices are

carefully planned. The recent release of his first CD is a well-

timed milestone in his musical development. The CD features

work by Giuseppe Verdi and Gaetano Donizetti, contemporaries

whose work marked a development from lyrical sweetness to

more drama. By performing work by both composers, Fabiano

demonstrates his expressive range and his understanding of op-

eratic history. Verdi & Donizetti does not disappoint.

broadcast [(brO:dkA:st]

, übertragen, senden

critic [(krItIk]

, Kritiker(in)

delight [di(laIt]

, erfreuen, begeistern

feature [(fi:tSE]

, hier: bieten

operatic [)QpE(rÄtIk]

, Opern-

release [ri(li:s]

, Veröffentlichung

FILM PREVIEW | DRAMA

Libraries are places of study and self-

betterment. By choosing a library as a

place of civil disobedience, US actor-

director Emilio Estevez contrasts a set-

ting with our expectations of it. For the

most part, his film The Public keeps this tension as it tells the

story of a library in Cincinnati that becomes a place of refuge

for the homeless and the mentally unstable during a period of

extreme cold. Estevez adds noise to a quiet subject by showing

the confrontation between the homeless, the library and the city

authorities. Occasionally, the conflict becomes stereotypical, but

The Public mostly shows that learning is useless unless it teaches

us, above all else, how to be good people. Starts 25 July.

civil disobedience

[)sIv&l )dIsE(bi:diEns]

, ziviler Ungehorsam

mentally unstable

[)ment&li Vn(steIb&l]

, psychisch labil

self-betterment

[)self (betEmEnt]

, Selbstverbesserung

tension [(tenS&n]

, Spannung

unless [En(les]

, außer

EXHIBITION | CONTEMPORARY ART

Vienna’s Belvedere Museum is featur-

ing work by US artist Kiki Smith. The

exhibition Procession shows how she is

fascinated by the ways in which human

identity is formed as a cross section of

nature and culture, body and soul, politics and our place in so-

ciety. Her sculptural work shows an unusual approach to the

human body, linking it to the natural world and centuries of

mythology. These issues have fascinated artists since we began

drawing on cave walls, and Smith’s work feels ancient, wise and

yet wonderfully specific. For details, go to http://www.belvedere.at

approach [E(prEUtS]

, Herangehensweise,

Methode

cave [keIv]

, Höhlen-

feature [(fi:tSE]

, hier: zeigen

Michael Fabiano:

the talented tenor

sings Verdi and

Donizetti for us