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Jim Farber

Jim Farber wrote his first classical music review in 1982 for the Los Angeles Jewish Journal. Since then, he has been a feature writer and critic of classical music, opera, theater, and fine art for The Daily Variety, the Copley Newspapers and News Service, and the Los Angeles Newspaper Group (Media News).

Articles by this Author

Chamber Orchestra/Orchestra Review
July 16, 2019
Big Night: The Royal Ballet and LA Phil Take On Adès/McGregor (and Dante)
BY Jim Farber

Composer Thomas Adès and choreographer Wayne McGregor collaborate on The Dante Project.

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Chamber Orchestra/Orchestra Review
July 16, 2019
Spirited Young Conductor Lights a Falla at the Hollywood Bowl
BY Jim Farber

Paolo Bortolameolli teams with Siudy Garrido and the LA Phil for a passionate performance of Manuel de Falla’s El amor brujo.

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Festival Review
June 25, 2019
San Diego’s Best Kept Secret: The Mainly Mozart Festival
BY Jim Farber

This month-long festival abounds in star power.

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Opera Review
June 14, 2019
Lifting Atlas at the LA Phil
BY Jim Farber

Yuval Sharon and the LA Phil revive Meredith Monk’s visionary opera.

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Festival Review
June 11, 2019
Barbara Hannigan Ignites the Ojai Music Festival
BY Jim Farber

The soprano/conductor’s musical versatility dominated the festival’s evening concerts.

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Opera Review
June 3, 2019
Numi Opera Opens Its Doors With a Stunted Der Zwerg
BY Jim Farber

Vocal performances are the strong suit in the fledgling company’s inaugural production.

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Chamber Orchestra/Orchestra Review
June 3, 2019
LA Phil’s Green Umbrella Lays Up During Noon to Midnight Festival
BY Jim Farber

The orchestral portion of LA Phil’s third-annual new-music marathon played it too safe.

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Artist Spotlight
Barbara Hannigan Takes the Helm at Ojai
May 30, 2019
Barbara Hannigan Takes the Helm at Ojai
BY Jim Farber

The Canadian soprano/conductor talks about her approach to directing this year’s festival and about balancing her dual roles.

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Chamber Music Review
May 28, 2019
Clarinet Rules Jacaranda’s “Vivid Reveries”
BY Jim Farber

Selections from Lutosławski to Mozart provide a reverse history of the instrument.

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Opera Review
May 21, 2019
Young Singers are the Stars of Ojai Youth Opera’s Nightingale & The Tower
BY Jim Farber

The world premiere suffers from an overabundance of themes, creative voices, and rain.

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Opera Review
May 6, 2019
El Gato Montés Is Right at Home on the Opera Stage
BY Jim Farber

Plácido Domingo spearheads L.A. Opera’s brilliant production of the zarzuela classic.

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Opera Review
April 29, 2019
Long Beach Opera Gets Political With In the Penal Colony
BY Jim Farber

Contemporary agitprop meets Philip Glass’s Kafkaesque opera.

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Chamber Orchestra/Orchestra Review
April 22, 2019
Stravinsky’s Other Rite of Spring
BY Jim Farber

Esa-Pekka Salonen and Peter Sellars explore the lost world of Persèphone.

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Modern Classical Review
April 16, 2019
Jacaranda Shuffles Off to Buffalo
BY Jim Farber

The Santa Monica series focuses on a musical crossroads.

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Feature Article
Zarzuela: ¿Por Qué No?
April 15, 2019
Zarzuela: ¿Por Qué No?
BY Jim Farber

With a new production of El Gato Montés, Los Angeles Opera and Plácido Domingo’s campaign to promote Spanish opera picks up speed.

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Chamber Orchestra/Orchestra Review
April 9, 2019
Patricia Kopatchinskaja’s Wild Tchaikovsky and an Unsuk Chin Premiere at LA Phil
BY Jim Farber

The violinist’s exuberant performance overshadowed the rest of the concert.

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Opera Review
April 9, 2019
It’s “One fine day” for Pacific Opera Project’s Madama Butterfly
BY Jim Farber

POP’s striking new production features a bilingual libretto.

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Chamber Orchestra/Orchestra Review
March 26, 2019
James Newton Howard’s Cello Concerto Showcases LACO’s Hollywood Connection
BY Jim Farber

Mozart sets the stage, with Jeffrey Kahane returning to the podium — and the piano.

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Chamber Orchestra/Orchestra Review
March 11, 2019
John Adams, Yuja Wang, and the LA Phil Give the Devil His Due
BY Jim Farber

The premiere of Adams’s new piano concerto is devilish fun.

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Opera Review
March 9, 2019
Mapplethorpe Reduced for a Post-Shock Era
BY Jim Farber

Bryce Dessner’s Triptych homogenizes the legacy of Robert Mapplethorpe.

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