COVERITLIVE.COM

1:00

Web producer - Welcome to our chat! Classical Music and Opera Critic Scott Cantrell, former Dallas Morning News Architecture Critic David Dillon and Los Angeles Times Architecture Critic Christopher Hawthorne are all here to discuss their impressions of the $354 million AT&T Performing Arts Center and what it means for downtown Dallas.

1:01	David Dillon - Hello Christopher and Scott

1:01	Christopher Hawthorne - Hello from Los Angeles.

1:01	Scott Cantrell - Hello all.

1:02	Scott Cantrell - Chris, as I recall, you were one of a number of writers who have argued that these buildings, both new and old, aren't yet enough to pull the district together and give it life -- right?

1:02	David Dillon - Christopher: In your review a few weeks ago you mentioned that arts center as economic drivers represented an old model. if so, what's the new model as you see it.?

1:03	Christopher Hawthorne - Two questions for me, which I'll try to answer one by one...

1:04	[Comment From Henry] Hello! Thanks for live chatting with us

1:05

Christopher Hawthorne -

To Scott's question: The arts district contains buildings by some of the world's leading architects, but still feels like less than the sum of its parts. In many ways downtown Los Angeles and its Music Center has the same problem, which I'm hoping we can talk about a bit.

1:05

Scott Cantrell - I have good news, by the way, from last night's opera and ballet rehearsal at the Winspear. The sound of voices from the stage was AMAZING. The minute Tom Hampson started to sing, I literally jumped in my seat. Chorus sound was also astonishingly powerful. Orchestra sounded a bit weak by contrast, but Graeme Jenkins was being over-cautious about not drowning out the singers. I think he'll adjust tonight.

The sound was also quite "live" out in the hall -- surprisingly so, although I expect that to be tamed a bit with a full audience. And very consistent -- and I tried widely different perspectives on virtually every level.

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