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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

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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Opera Review
March 5, 2019
L.A. Opera Dazzles With a Revival of La Clemenza di Tito
BY Jim Farber

James Conlon directs the company premiere of a Mozart masterpiece.

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Artist Spotlight
Robert Mapplethorpe Inspires Bryce Dessner’s New Multimedia Opera
February 26, 2019
Robert Mapplethorpe Inspires Bryce Dessner’s New Multimedia Opera
BY Jim Farber

The composer/guitarist’s Triptych (Eyes of One on Another) premieres with the LA Phil’s New Music Group.

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Opera Review
February 26, 2019
L.A. Opera’s the loser Is a Winner
BY Jim Farber

Rod Gilfry takes an astonishing solo turn in the West Coast premiere of David Lang’s new opera.

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Choral Review
February 19, 2019
’Til Death Do Us Part
BY Jim Farber

The L.A. Master Chorale parts The Sacred Veil.

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