A CRITIC’S PET PEEVES

ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

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• PROGRAMS WITH NO TRANSLATIONS OR NOTES ABOUT THE MUSIC: On this subject we will not mention any culprits but instead salute the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra for consistency and quality in this area.
• SLOPPY DRESS (ON AND OFF-STAGE): In the audience of opening nights in Cincinnati’s Music Hall and in just about any number of occasions all over town one can always spot middle-aged males (and older) in outfits better suited to running errands on the weekend than to evening concert going – inexcusable especially when the ladies they accompany look great. And, worse, some of our maestros, who should know better and try to look their age, instead lead their ensembles in trendy designer shirts worn outside the pants, while the rank and file of the players in the orchestra look uniformly snappy. What gives?
• THE KNEE-JERK STANDING OVATION: Often undeserved and thoughtlessly given, this kind of praise is better left for the fans in the ballpark when their team hits a home run. Applaud always either for the very good or for thank goodness it’s over. Rise for the national anthem and for the truly great.
• THE “IT’S OVER NOW, WHERE DID I PARK?” RUDE EXIT: This is an equal-opportunity ill-mannered behavior recently seen by us at the end of a concert on the part of oldsters, youngsters, and the merely clueless. And if you think it’s OK to leave the moment the music has ended you are oh so wrong. Your car will be still there if you just give five minutes of thanks to the artists on stage who have just played and or sung their hearts out.
• THE I DON’T CARE IF I’M LATE I WANT TO GET TO MY SEAT ARRIVAL: In a better universe latecomers should be politely asked to listen to and watch the performance via closed-circuit TV. Music Hall, are you listening?
• TALKING, TEXTING, CHECKING YOUR EMAIL, OPENING CANDY WRAPPERS, AND ANY OTHER OBNOXIOUS BEHAVIOR WHILE THE MUSIC PLAYS OR THE ACTORS SPEAK DEFINES YOU AS A JERK.

Published by ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Rafael de Acha has enjoyed a distinguished career in the arts as a performer, stage director, producer, and educator. He was born and grew up in Cuba. At the age of 17 he moved to the United States to study Drama at the University of Minnesota, and later Languages at L.A. City College, Music at the Juilliard School of Music, at the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music, and at the New England Conservatory of Music, from which he received the Master's degree. He has taught courses on the History of Music at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music and at Florida International University, and contributed writings and reviews to Seen and Heard International (www.seenandheard-international.com ) and to this blog. He co-founded the award-winning New Theatre in Coral Gables, Florida, where he produced and staged twenty seasons of classical and contemporary theater, including fifty world premieres of plays that went on to have international and national productions on and off Broadway, including Ana in the Tropics by Nilo Cruz (Pulitzer Prize for Drama 2002 and Tony Nomination 2003.) In 2006 he was presented with a citation from The Dade County Cultural Affairs Council for “trailblazing contributions to the arts in South Florida.”