Classical Music Theater Reviews

Review: PROM 68 – MAX RICHTER - RECOMPOSED, Royal Albert Hall
by Debbie Gilpin - September 10, 2023

The Britten Sinfonia is unusual in the world of professional orchestras, in that they don’t have the now-traditional principal conductor as their figurehead, instead choosing to collaborate with leading exponents of the field. For this Prom, violinist Thomas Gould both played and acted as director; ...

Review: PROM 60: BERLIN RADIO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, Royal Albert Hall
by Louise Penn - September 03, 2023

Marking the Proms debut of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin), their artistic director Vladimir Jurowski conducted a lively and varied programme of works by Weill, Adès and Rachmaninov to a Royal Albert Hall high in anticipation. ...

Review: PROM 56 – RATTLE CONDUCTS MAHLER'S NINTH, Royal Albert Hall
by Debbie Gilpin - August 28, 2023

Last night’s performance consisted of a rendition of Francis Poulenc’s Figure humaine by the BBC Singers, as well as the London Symphony Orchestra tackling Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 9. A fitting pairing for something of a bittersweet evening, as it brings together words from the French Resistance...

Review: PROM 55 – GERSHWIN'S PIANO CONCERTO, Royal Albert Hall
by Debbie Gilpin - August 28, 2023

The Boston Symphony Orchestra’s second outing at this year’s Proms celebrated the magic of movement, with varying degrees of dance in pieces by Stravinsky, Ravel, Gershwin, and a European première from Carlos Simon. Their programme took the audience back in time, beginning in the 2020s and ending in...

Review: BBC PROM 49: SCHUMANN'S DAS PARADIES UND DIE PERI, Royal Albert Hall
by Louise Penn - August 23, 2023

This is a piece of folk storytelling at its best. Das Paradies und die Peri is an exciting piece of music which has everything you might want in an evening: moments of battle evoked by complex orchestrations; true love brought to life by the emotional power of song; and eventual redemption....

Review: THE LA JOLLA MUSIC SOCIETY'S FANTASTIC TALES at The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center
by Ron Bierman - August 06, 2023

What did our critic think of THE LA JOLLA MUSIC SOCIETY'S FANTASTIC TALES at The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center?...

Review: THE LA JOLLA MUSIC SOCIETY'S SUMMERFEST OPENING at The Baker-Baum Concert Hall
by Ron Bierman - August 01, 2023

What did our critic think of THE LA JOLLA MUSIC SOCIETY'S SUMMERFEST OPENING at The Baker-Baum Concert Hall?...

Review: In Saint-Saens' HENRI VIII, the King Has the Title but the Queens Are in Charge at Bard Festival
by Richard Sasanow - July 30, 2023

Donizetti’s so-called “Tudor Trilogy”--ANNA BOLENA, MARIA STUARDA and ROBERTO DEVEREUX (aka, “the one about Elizabeth I”)--suddenly has some competition on British history in opera: Camille Saint-Saens' HENRI VIII....

Review: BBC PROMS AT SAGE GATESHEAD: SELF ESTEEM & ROYAL NORTHERN SINFONIA, Sage Gateshead
by Bryony Rae Taylor - July 24, 2023

I like my orchestral music organised around Northern talent. An evening of two halves, this BBC Proms event saw Nottingham (which is geographically more North than South, so let’s forget for a moment that it’s in the midlands) was repped by four-piece band Divorce. Then, Rotherham-born Self-Esteem -...

Review: PROM 11: HORRIBLE HISTORIES - 'ORRIBLE OPERA, Royal Albert Hall
by Kat Mokrynski - July 24, 2023

Prom 11: Horrible Histories ‘Orrible Opera is a delightful show that will amuse audiences of all ages while making opera more approachable....

Review: PROM 7 – BEETHOVEN'S FIFTH SYMPHONY, Royal Albert Hall
by Debbie Gilpin - July 20, 2023

Works by “the old Ludwig van” – as A Clockwork Orange’s Alex would say – remain popular as part of the BBC Proms series, with this performance of his fifth symphony the second of eight Beethoven compositions on the programme this year – and this is probably the most famous of the lot. It was precede...

Review: THE GUITAR WORKS OF ROBERT W. BUTTS at Elegia Classics
by Peter Danish - July 18, 2023

What did our critic think of THE GUITAR WORKS OF ROBERT W. BUTTS at Elegia Classics?...

Review: THE TURN OF THE SCREW at Union Avenue Opera
by Benjamin Torbert - July 10, 2023

“The Turn of the Screw,” a deft psychological exploration of the dimensions of horror and the human mind. UAO’s successful staging of the work appropriately raised more questions than it answered, about danger, fear, the limits of human perception, and a host of other commonplaces in horror....

Review: ELDBJØRG HEMSING PERFORMS 'ARCTIC' AT DEATH OF CLASSICAL at Green-Wood Cemetery
by Peter Danish - July 10, 2023

What did our critic think of ELDBJØRG HEMSING PERFORMS 'ARCTIC' AT DEATH OF CLASSICAL at Green-Wood Cemetery?...

Review: CINDERELLA (CENDRILLON) at Artscape Opera House Is a Magical Blend of Opera, Ballet and Dialogue
by Jaime Uranovsky - July 05, 2023

Everyone has been acquainted with the story of CINDERELLA in some way, shape or form. What not everyone has experienced is this timeless tale told through a mixture of opera, ballet and acting. Indeed, this self-aware adaptation of Pauline Viardot’s chamber opera CINDERELLA (CENDRILLON), presented b...

BWW CD REVIEW: ARCHETYPE at Lexicon Classics
by Erica Miner - July 03, 2023

What did our critic think of BWW CD REVIEW: ARCHETYPE at Lexicon Classics?a not-to-be-missed musical delight that will elicit the desire for repeated listenings...

Review: The San Diego Symphony Opens Summer Season at San Diego's Rady Shell
by Ron Bierman - July 03, 2023

Pacho Flores is a winner of the top prize in the world’s most prestigious trumpet competition, the Maurice André International, and the list of contemporary composers writing for him is impressive and growing. The San Diego Symphony has now performed two of the results. Last season it was Paquito D'...

Review: THE MAINLY MOZART ALL STAR ORCHESTRA PERFORMS BEETHOVEN'S NINTH at The Epstein Family Amphitheater On The UCSD Campus
by Ron Bierman - June 28, 2023

What did our critic think of THE MAINLY MOZART ALL STAR ORCHESTRA PERFORMS BEETHOVEN'S NINTH at The Epstein Family Amphitheater On The UCSD Campus?...

Review: WHAT'S GOING ON NOW at Kennedy Center
by Roger Catlin - June 19, 2023

The National Symphony Orchestra’s intent this weekend was to pay tribute to the 50th anniversary of native son Marvin Gaye’s classic “What’s Going On” album, a high water mark for both social commentary and Motown soul. ...

Review: MORLOT, SEATTLE SYMPHONY CAPTIVATE IN ALL-FRENCH PROGRAM at Benaroya Hall
by Erica Miner - June 05, 2023

This was a hugely demanding program, and Morlot and his musicians together produced an awe-inspiring accomplishment....

Review: THE FLYING DUTCHMAN at Metropolitan Opera
by Peter Danish - June 02, 2023

Thomas Guggeis, the young German conductor making his Met debut, is Kapellmeister at the Staatsoper Berlin and the designated Generalmusikdirektor of the Oper Frankfurt; pretty impressive for one who has yet to hit his 30th birthday!   His Met debut was justly anticipated, as across Europe he is kno...

Review: RISING at Warner Classics/Erato Label
by Erica Miner - June 02, 2023

A veritable cornucopia of African American talent from multiple generations. One could hardly imagine a more comprehensive collection. Not to be missed....

Review: THE SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY PERFORMS TWO CLASSICS AND A WORLD PREMIERE At San Diego's Rady Shell
by Ron Bierman - May 24, 2023

What did our critic think of THE SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY PERFORMS TWO CLASSICS AND A WORLD PREMIERE at San Diego's Rady Shell?...

Review: LA BOHÈME at Kennedy Center
by David Friscic - May 17, 2023

The glorious music of Puccini remains the principal reason to see the Washington National Opera’s (WNO)current production of the beloved classic opera La bohème. This oft-referenced opera that has influenced everything from the famous film Moonstruck to the hit Broadway musical Rent, must be a fairl...

Review: MasterVoices Shows that There's Still Life in Gilbert & Sullivan's IOLANTHE in the 21st Century
by Richard Sasanow - May 05, 2023

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....