Review: Met's Laffont Competition Unleashes New Artists on Grateful Audience Photo
by Richard Sasanow
- March 21, 2024
No matter how many “star” performances the Met manages to muster in the course of a season, there’s nothing quite as exciting as the Laffont Grand Finals Concert—formerly known as the Met’s National Auditions Finals—which took place this past Sunday afternoon for its 70th season, when we got to hear up-and-comers who might have knocked our socks off at the concert itself or could at some time in the future....
Review: When Akhmetshina's CARMEN Is On Stage at The Met, Don't Fence Her In Photo
by Richard Sasanow
- January 06, 2024
Sometimes you hear a singer who embodies a role so completely that it’s hard to imagine her in anything else. That’s how I felt about the wonderful mezzo Aigul Akhmetshina, who’s singing the title role in the Met’s new production of Bizet’s CARMEN, which I saw at its second performance. Her portrayal was as full-bodied as her voice and she sizzled, filling up the stage as much as one can imagine. It’s little surprise that she’s considered the Carmen of the moment, having appeared in seven other ...
On Site Opera Offers Two Free Concerts at West Side Community Garden Photo
by Stephi Wild
- June 16, 2023
On Site Opera, New York’s pioneering opera company rooted in site-specific storytelling and the immersive experience, returns to the West Side Community Garden for Opera in the Garden—two evenings of free outdoor performances on Wednesday, June 21 and Wednesday, June 28. ...