Press
Acclaim
April 15, 2023
San Antonio Philharmonic: Climbing the mountain
San Antonio Philharmonic: Climbing the mountain
Abdullah, born in Indiana and reared in Ohio, is making a mark as a conductor of contemporary work, both opera (a tryptich of world premieres dealing with social issues, last month at Lyric Opera of Chicago) and orchestral (a world premiere by Dai Fujikura with the Seattle Symphony in February).
Acclaim
March 27, 2023
Anna Deavere Smith takes a fresh step with first opera, ‘The Walkers’
Anna Deavere Smith takes a fresh step with first opera, ‘The Walkers’
An opera such as “The Walkers” feels like a powerful show of opera’s ability to combine grand spectacle with intimate storytelling, and the form’s untapped potential to contribute directly and immediately to critical cultural conversations.
Conductor Kazem Abdullah admirably led the Lyric Opera Orchestra, which sounded bright and vivid and felt wrapped around the singers’ voices all evening.
Acclaim
March 26, 2023
Review: In Chicago, an Opera Triptych Reaches for Connection
Review: In Chicago, an Opera Triptych Reaches for Connection
In Lyric’s premiere here on Friday, “Proximity,” the company gave itself an even more ambitious assignment than one new commission: three of them, by three composer-librettist pairs, sharing a single evening.
Feature
February 4, 2023
Abdullah, Hadelich and the Seattle Symphony offer a winter-conquering musical feast
Abdullah, Hadelich and the Seattle Symphony offer a winter-conquering musical feast
A warm bond developed between debuting guest conductor Kazem Abdullah and the Seattle Symphony musicians during the course of the concert, reaching incandescence in their cloud-busting account of the Finnish composer’s Seventh Symphony.
Acclaim
September 15, 2022
Review: After 36 Years, a Malcolm X Opera Sings to the Future
Review: After 36 Years, a Malcolm X Opera Sings to the Future
Guided sensitively by the conductor Kazem Abdullah, the music goes on to swerve from punchy modernism to lyrical lushness, from peaceful worship to nervous energy and stentorian forcefulness.
Acclaim
February 22, 2022
Copland, Eastman works provide the highlights to close “Clarinet Visions”
Copland, Eastman works provide the highlights to close “Clarinet Visions”
Abdullah drew brilliant and precise playing from the ensemble and displayed real affinity for Copland’s distinctive Americana idiom.
Feature
February 2, 2022
Lyric Opera is back at full blast: 2022-23 season begins with Verdi and concludes with a return for ‘West Side Story’
Lyric Opera is back at full blast: 2022-23 season begins with Verdi and concludes with a return for ‘West Side Story’
”Proximity” is conducted by Kazem Abdullah in his Lyric debut
Feature
February 1, 2022
Lyric Opera of Chicago Announces 2022/23 Season Featuring Two World Premieres
Lyric Opera of Chicago Announces 2022/23 Season Featuring Two World Premieres
Proximity is conducted by Kazem Abdullah in his Lyric debut; Lyric Special Projects Advisor Renée Fleming is the project's curator.
Feature
September 16, 2021
The Metropolitan Opera announces the company premiere of Anthony Davis’s X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, to be presented in the 2023–24 season
The Metropolitan Opera announces the company premiere of Anthony Davis’s X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, to be presented in the 2023–24 season
Baritone Will Liverman stars in the title role of the opera, which will be conducted by Kazem Abdullah
