Classical Music Theater Reviews

Review: BLACKSTAR SYMPHONY: THE MUSIC OF DAVID BOWIE at Kennedy Center
by Roger Catlin - July 02, 2024

It was a one-two punch to fans of David Bowie in early 2016 when the rock star was suddenly pronounced dead and two days later, on what would have been his 69th birthday, released his final album, “Blackstar,” a preordained farewell addressing his demise....

Review: LA VIE BOHEME at Polish National Opera
by Natalia Jarczynska - June 21, 2024

This is my very first time at the Polish National Opera and as we all know, first times can be overrated. This is certainly not the case here....

Review: LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR at Artscape, Opera House
by Michelle B Lewis - June 20, 2024

This restaging of LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR is a fitting tribute to Cape Town Opera's 25 years of artistic excellence. Under Gobbato's direction, the production not only honours the company’s past but also looks forward to its future, showcasing the enduring power of opera to move and inspire. ...

Review: San Diego Opera Presents Andrea Carroll and Joshua Guerrero in Recital at Balboa Theatre
by Ron Bierman - June 14, 2024

About halfway into her two-hour plus recital with tenor Joshua Guerrero, soprano Andrea Carroll gave a well-earned compliment to their accompanist Stephen Hopkins for his technique and versatility. Both were challenged during the unusually varied program the two singers had fashioned....

Review: LEONA MITCHELL RETURNS TO NEW YORK at Theater Of St. Jean
by Peter Danish - May 31, 2024

When a legendary diva, one of the great voices of the 20th century, announces her return to the New York stage after an absence of two decades, fans are generally overjoyed – at first – then curious – then trepidatious – finally, hopeful that the return will be a success. ...

Review: TURANDOT at LA Opera
by Andrew Child - May 22, 2024

A sharp blade wielded threateningly, forced perspective creating looming palatial walls, the rotting heads of failed suitors, and a princess literally shrouded in mystery quickly orient us within Puccini’s iconic fairytale....

Review: SIMON RATTLE AND THE BRSO AT CARNEGIE HALL at Carnegie Hall
by Peter Danish - May 15, 2024

Simon Rattle is possibly the most interesting conductor before the public today.   And one thing audiences can count on is that no two performances he conducts will ever be identical.  There is no question that he brings forth fire and magical playing.  There is no question he bring forth colors tha...

Review: TURANDOT performed by Washington National Opera at Kennedy Center
by David Friscic - May 14, 2024

Incredibly rich in detail --from staging to technical aspects-- and emboldened with Puccini’s soaring music and meticulous, intelligent direction by Francesca Zambello, Washington National Opera’s production of Turandot is a production for the ages. The entire creative team, the cast, the Washington...

Review: PAN AMERICAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA'S TODO TANGO at Kennedy Center
by Hannah R. Wing - April 22, 2024

On Saturday, April 20, 2024, PASO brought their program, Todo Tango, an intimate and fiery evening of tango to the Kennedy Center. ...

Review: TURANDOT at Belk Theater
by Perry Tannenbaum - April 22, 2024

Yes, a grand opera was inserted at Belk Theater as the clock or calendar was winding down! Around the world, Callas, Nilsson, and Sutherland are among the divas who have graced the powerhouse role of TURANDOT, and Franco Zeffirelli's production at the Met is as revered for its stateliness and splend...

Review: COLORS BY DANIEL TEMKIN at Church Of The Intersession
by Peter Danish - April 17, 2024

What did our critic think of COLORS BY DANIEL TEMKIN at Church Of The Intersession?...

Review: The Rule of Threes: The GNSO Performs Soros, Price and Mahler at Aquinas Hall, Newburgh
by Peter Danish - April 03, 2024

Programming is a key element in the lifeblood of every symphony orchestra.  Finding the right blend of old and new, of familiar and unfamiliar, of modern and traditional, of the accessible and the more challenging; this is the task....

Review: San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus Presents DRAG ME TO THE MOVIES! at Davies Symphony Hall
by Steve Murray - March 29, 2024

What did our critic think of SAN FRANCISCO GAY MEN’S CHORUS PRESENTS DRAG ME TO THE MOVIES! at Davies Symphony Hall?...

Review: PLAY/WRITE at Planet M Records
by Erica Miner - March 22, 2024

What did our critic think of PLAY/WRITE at Planet M Records? There is much to unpack here in the way of unique sounds, colors and vibrations...

Review: STEPHEN HOUGH WITH THE SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY at San Diego Civic Center Theater
by Ron Bierman - March 22, 2024

Read BroadwayWorld's review of Stephen Hough with the San Diego Symphony at San Diego Civic Center Theater....

Review: SONGBIRD at Kennedy Center
by Roger Catlin - March 12, 2024

There’s an awful lot of death in opera, Timothy O’Leary, the general director of Washington National Opera, lamented on a recent opening night. And those plentiful tragedies are also often further burdened with overbearing scores, turgid storylines, super-large casts and strident if not shrill perfo...

Review: NJSO PERFORMS STRAUSS, VIVALDI AND ESMAIL AT NJPAC at NJPAC
by Peter Danish - March 09, 2024

What did our critic think of NJSO PERFORMS STRAUSS, VIVALDI AND ESMAIL AT NJPAC at NJPAC?...

Review: ROMEO ET JULIETTE at Arizona Opera
by Herbert Paine - March 05, 2024

Arizona Opera's revival of Charles Gounod’s ROMEO ET JULIETTE is, by all measures, a triumph of staging and performance. Following its performances in Phoenix, the production moves to the Temple of Music and Art in Tucson AZ (March 9th and 10th)....

Review: THE NIGHTINGALE AND OTHER FABLES – ADELAIDE FESTIVAL 2024 at Adelaide Festival Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre
by Barry Lenny - March 02, 2024

It is as visually rich as it is aurally....

Review: SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY PLAYS RAVEL, RESPIGHI, AND BATES at San Diego Civic Center Theater
by Ron Bierman - March 01, 2024

If this concert didn’t convince newcomers to classical music that they’d been missing out, nothing will. Conductor Rafael Payare went all out for excitement and got it with a program that displayed the orchestra's virtuosity. The result was an exceptionally enjoyable concert....

Review: Boston Lyric Opera's THE ANONYMOUS LOVER is a Joyous Delight
by R. Scott Reedy - February 18, 2024

What did our critic think of THE ANONYMOUS LOVER at Boston Lyric Opera?...

Review: BACH'S WINTER REVERIE & SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY VIRTUOSITY at The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center
by Ron Bierman - February 14, 2024

Edo de Waart opened a conservative program of J. S. Bach, Samuel Barber and Josef Haydn with Bach’s B-minor Orchestral Suite. The suite is often performed with a full-sized modern string section of 40 or more. De Waart chose a size much closer to one listeners would have been likely to hear in the 1...

Review: Renée Fleming Dazzles with VOICE OF NATURE: THE ANTHROPOCENE at Symphony Hall
by R. Scott Reedy - February 08, 2024

What did our critic think of VOICE OF NATURE: THE ANTHROPOCENE at Symphony Hall? With her sold-out Celebrity Series of Boston performance this past Sunday at Symphony Hall, Renée Fleming offered a splendid reminder, although none is needed, of why she is widely considered to be the preeminent Americ...

Review: Audra McDonald in Concert with The National Symphony Orchestra at Kennedy Center Concert Hall
by Mary Lincer - January 31, 2024

Audra McDonald has (at least) four voices--Broadway, jazz, opera, blues--not to mention six Tonys. She brought them all (the voices, not the awards) to her two hour concert with the National Symphony Pops which repeats Wednesday evening, January 31. ...

Review: THE SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY PERFORMS MOZART at The Conrad In La Jolla
by Ron Bierman - January 30, 2024

The San Diego Symphony was at a little more than half its usual size, but with a near full complement of strings, and Raphael Payare conducted with great feeling and passion. (A friend commented at intermission, “I thought he was on a trampoline.”) The result was unusually satisfying versions of th...