CLASSICAL MUSIC THEATER REVIEWS

Maybe the Met should stop thinking about THE MERRY WIDOW and DIE FLEDERMAUS when it takes a turn at operetta—let alone the bevy of comic operas by Rossini and Donizetti that are given more than their due on a regular basis—and let Gilbert & Sullivan (G&S) have a turn at bat....

Nicolas Reveles was diagnosed with late-stage pancreatic cancer shortly after completing Ghosts, and it is tragic that he died just weeks before its world premiere in a San Diego Opera production. A sincerely religious man, his spirit lives on in the minds of the many grieving friends and admirers ...

It's truly amazing that one can walk by a place and be unaware of it, no matter how important it may be. Or what it looks like inside. I, for one, am not one of those people. I have been curious about New York City's Central Synagogue (in Midtown East) for a long time. And just recently I had the ch...

What did our critic think of MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS CONDUCTS THE NY PHILHARMONIC at David Geffen Hall? Sunday's performance at the NY Philharmonic was nothing short of a lovefest. From the moment MTT entered the auditorium until after his last standing ovation, curtain call - well over two hours late...

Edo de Waart is now in his fourth year as Principal Guest Conductor of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra. In his long career he’s headed orchestras on four continents and taught in this country’s finest music schools. It’s no coincidence that his frequent conducting appearances in San Diego hav...

What did our critic think of THE VIENNA PHILHARMONIC AT CARNEGIE HALL at Carnegie Hall? As I sat in Carnegie Hall on Sunday afternoon, awaiting Christian Thielemann and his mighty Vienna Philharmonic's final performance of a three-concert visit, I waxed nostalgic and drifted back to my very first he...

What did our critic think of THE SONG POET at Minnesota Opera? The first Hmong story adapted for the operatic stage, St. Paul writer Kao Kalia Yang's memoir The Song Poet comes to life in this world premiere. It tells the story of Yang's family and her song poet father as war drives them from the mo...

What did our critic think of NJ SYMPHONY MAHLER 3RD at NJPAC? NJ Symphony musical director, Xian Zhang has stated often that the Mahler 3rd is her favorite work of all time. This was evident from the instant she bounded up onto the platform until the time she stepped down some 99 minutes later. Duri...

It’s always exciting to hear or see a musician’s performance debut. It’s doubly exciting when a musician of Daniela Candillari’s caliber makes her New York Philhamonic debut in the beautifully refreshed David Geffen Hall....

A meteor named Mei-Ann Chen had an impact on Charlotte Symphony and its subscribers that was simply electrifying....

The big question for the evening was how mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe would do as the first woman in professional opera to sing the baritone title role in Gianni Schicchi. But the question wouldn’t be answered until the second one-act opera in San Diego Opera’s “Puccini Duo.” Blythe was fi...

What did our critic think of TARMO PELTOKOSKI As He MAKES HIS U.S. DEBUT WITH THE SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA at Southwestern Colleges Performing Arts Center? We seem to be going through an unprecedented flood of young conducting talent. Finnland's Tarmo Peltokoski is an example. At 22 his recent-c...

A worthy candidate for CSO's vacant musical directorship, Vinay Parameswaran brings a winsome personality and an eclectic modern program to the Knight Theater podium for his Charlotte debut....

What did our critic think of PROKOFIEV'S ROMEO & JULIET at Robinson Center?...

What did our critic think of ANNE AKIKO MEYERS AND THE SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY at The California Center For The Arts, Escondido? Review: A New Violin Concerto Delights the Audience!...

The calibre of the musicians was undoubted....

There’s more contemporary opera in New York these days than there used to be and I’ll drink to that. But there’s nothing else that does it with the panache of the PROTOTYPE Festival, the brainchild of Beth Morrison Projects and HERE....

This week’s concert of Vivaldi and Handel at the Chamber Music Society (CMS)--with countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, oboist James Austin Smith and harpist Bridget Kibbey--whipped the audience into a frenzy of delight with a combination of arias, sonatas and concertos at Lincoln Center’s Alice ...

Mezzo Isabel Leonard and classical-guitarist Pablo Sáinz-Villegas are stars in their fields. Leonard has sung on two Grammy-winning opera recordings and won a Beverly Sills Artist Award at the Metropolitan Opera--and even guested on Sesame Street. He's garnered 30 international awards, including th...

Brought together the naive timbre and touch structure of the Rhodes Piano, also known as the Fender Rhodes, the cult instrument of jazz, and the harmonic richness of J.S.Bach in the album 'It's Electric'. Time-defying and game-changing with a strong current that connects the past and the future....

What did our critic think of PARLANDO ENSEMBLE: HEROINES AND HERETICS at Merkin Hall;?...

What did our critic think of JOSHUA BELL PLAYS BRUCH’S FIRST VIOLIN CONCERTO at Ordway Concert Hall?...

Upon entering it seemed like the entire audience had their phones out snapping pictures of the new space - the banter was almost uniformly positive. All in all, it is a vastly more attractive space than the old one. Some folks even shed tears as they gazed around....

Quite possibly one of the best known opera comiques, CARMEN has returned to the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts’ stage in a bright blaze....

One of the world’s most beloved operas takes centre stage in Edmonton....