John Goodspeed, a beloved member of the MPT family, passed away this past September. He was the literary critic on MPT's "Critic's Place" which ran from 1974 to 1986. One of his favorite subjects was "Bawlmorese," the unique accent found in this city. We are pleased to present his version of Clement Moore's classic "The Night Before Christmas" in classic Bawlmorese. This recording was found by former MPT "Crabs" producer Dick George, and for that we are grateful.

 

Born and raised in Arlington, Virginia to very modest means, neither Carl nor his family had any idea he would grow up to become a world-renowned opera star. His mother kept house and raised Carl and his three brothers, while his father, who Carl says "was the hardest-working man I ever knew," worked two full time and part time jobs to put food on the table and clothes on their backs.

But during good times and bad, there was always music playing in the Tanner house. And though music was a big part of Carl's life, in the beginning it was country music that influenced him. "Every Sunday my father and I would drive down to visit his brothers and sisters and I would turn the radio to whatever country music station his little Chevy Corvair could get, then I would sing along with John Denver, Willie Nelson, Roy Clark or whoever was crooning away at the time. I'm pretty sure thatýs where I first got my love for music." Carl started learning the violin when he was 13 years old and though he never really took it seriously, he says, "I do believe that was the start of my love for classical music."

Carl Tanner has evolved into one of opera's great tenors. With his brilliant voice, he continues to perform to packed houses all over the world, from Covent Garden to La Scala, from New York to Berlin, from Naples to Washington. Carl was seen by millions on NBC's The Today Show. After hearing Tanner's Metropolitan Opera Central Park performance of Turandot, the New York Post's classical critic wrote, "His voice is robust and virile, he delivered 'Nessun dorma,' the aria every tenor fan waits for, with passion and a ringing resonance. It would have brought the house down if there had been one." "Hear the Angel Voices" by Carl Tanner is available at your local music store and Amazon.com.

Carl Tanner

Plan ahead for your new year by arranging to see the national tour of "Chicago" which is set to appear at the Hippodrome in Baltimore from January 2 through 7. Rhea welcomes one of the stars of this production, Melba Moore, to Artworks This Week to talk about this upcoming show – "....and All That Jazz!"

Hippodrome Theatre

This week's artist displayed in our studio is Tracie Taylor. She is on view at the Steven Scott Gallery in Owings Mills. Since 1983, Richmond artist Tracie Taylor (M.F.A. in Photography, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1985) has captured images of amusement parks, miniature golf courses and industrial machines and transformed them into highly creative statements of her own. Taking what the camera records as her starting point, Taylor manipulates her photographs by turning positive areas into negative ones. Her technical aids in this process include the modification of the image with hand-cut stencils of Kodalith and Rubylith film. The black and white photographs are painted with oils. By altering the color and composition of her images, Taylor allows the viewer to enter a uniquely magical world. For more information, call 410-902-9300. The Steven Scott Gallery is located at 9169 Reisterstown Rd. in Owings Mills.

Steven Scott Gallery

On ArtChat This Week, Nate and Rhea discuss the abundant schedule of activities available over the holidays. The Hippodrome Theater has "Chicago," and "The Nutcracker," performed by the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater. The Warner Theater is featuring "Stomp," the high energy musical. There are also some amazing holiday performances scheduled at the Meyerhoff, the Lyric and all around town. And don't forget to make the annual visit to Hampden's 34th Street this year. Always a kind, magical time there...

Hippodrome Theatre
Warner Theatre