Fanfare Contributor Bio
Joel Kasow
I am a native New Yorker, born in Manhattan, raised in the Bronx and then White Plains, attended Columbia College and received a master’s degree in English from the University of Wisconsin. My first live operatic experience was a dress rehearsal of Tristan und Isolde in 1950 (I had an enlightened music teacher in 6th grade) with Helen Traubel (the archives show that Fritz Reiner conducted and Ramón Vinay was the hero). After that it was student matinees or replacing one of my parents on their subscription performances—of course being at Columbia allowed me to attend quite regularly, to the detriment of my grades. Since then I have clocked up many performances in many locations, and have been reviewing for Opera since my move to Europe in 1972. I also enjoy music other than opera; but I have been far less assiduous in attending live performances for the last 20 years.