Review: PARSIFAL, Royal Ballet And Opera
Corruption, redemption, lies.
Opera Theater Reviews
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Review: OPERA À LA CARTE SAN DIEGO PERFORMS DONIZETTI at The Light Box Theater in Liberty Station
What did our critic think of OPERA À LA CARTE SAN DIEGO PERFORMS DONIZETTI at Liberty Station's Light Box Theater? Opera À la Carte San Diego’s third annual full production was the San Diego premiere of Donizetti’s operatic satire Viva la Mamma! The production was as entertaining and well-s
Review: Making Scotland Great Again with Thrilling Davidsen and Kelsey in Met’s New MACBETH
There’s not an ounce of humanity in any of the three principals at the core of Verdi’s MACBETH, in a new production by Louisa Proske in her Met debut, which opened the company’s new season Tuesday night.
Review: ALCINA, Royal Ballet And Opera
Returning to Covent Garden for the first time since it waltzed off with an Olivier in 2022, Richard Jones’ Alcina is ravishing to look at, a joy to hear and its clever design motifs still stand out from the crowd.
Review: DON GIOVANNI, Royal Ballet And Opera
A visually compelling Don Giovanni from Royal Ballet & Opera, with a superb set by Es Devlin and memorable star turn by Aigul Akhmetshina as Donna Elvira.
Review: Klaus Nomi - Still Hovering Somewhere Between the Opera House and Outer Space
Klaus Nomi—born Klaus Sperber in Germany in 1944—was an otherworldly countertenor who materialized on New York’s downtown scene in the late 1970s.
Review: Lise Davidsen’s Strauss LAST SONGS is First in Anyone’s Book, with Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra
While it was only one part of the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra’s concert, under Keri-Lyn Wilson, at Geffen Hall the other night, there’s no denying that the centerpiece was Richard Strauss’s FOUR LAST SONGS with the brilliant soprano Lise Davidsen—one of the Met’s star attractions these day
Review: TROUBLE IN TAHITI and THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS, Opera Holland Park
Leonard Bernstein and Kurt Weill write great tunes and tell terrific stories in brilliant debut twin productions by Opera Prelude
Review: BBC PROMS: ARIADNE AUF NAXOS, Royal Albert Hall
This production, direct from Glyndebourne, is a delight from start to finish, with laughter and glorious voices leading to a true emotional climax to send us soaring into the summer night.
Review: THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre
A real sense of fun lifts an already frothy opera, Mozart at his most mischievous
REVIEW: Impressive Singing in Strauss’s EGYPTIAN HELEN, but the Story’s a Mystery at SummerScape
If you ever wondered about the private life of the legendary Helen of Troy—aside from being a fabulous beauty whose face reputedly launched a thousand ships—you might look for answers in Richard Strauss’s opera DIE AEGIPTISCHE HELENA (THE EGYPTIAN HELEN).
Review: DIE ENTFÜHRUNG AUS DEM SERAIL, Glyndebourne
It's over a decade since David McVicar’s glorious version of Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio) debuted at Glyndebourne.
Review: L'ELISIR D'AMORE, Dorset Opera Festival
The Dorset Opera Festival finds the perfect setting for Gaetano Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore.
Review: ARIADNE AUF NAXOS, Glyndebourne Festival
Richard Strauss's opera within an opera, Ariadne aux Naxos, is a curious beast: a hybrid of spoken word and singing, a mix of musical influences and themes which ask whether high art can ever mix with popular entertainment.
Review: DON GIOVANNI a Bel Canto Opera? Crutchfield’s Teatro Nuovo Proves It
To “IL” or not to “IL”—that is the question.
Review: Teatro Nuovo Does It Again with Smashing TURCO IN ITALIA
While the US celebrates its 250th anniversary (with not much to cheer about), those bel canto specialists under Will Crutchfield at Teatro Nuovo are reveling in the 200th year since Italian opera (or at least opera in Italian) came to this country.
Review: Festival Napa Valley Perfectly Blends Music, Cuisine, and the Best of Wine Country
As Festival Napa Valley celebrates its 20th Anniversary Summer Season, running July 4–19, the opening weekend perfectly illustrated why the festival has become one of the country's most sought-after cultural destinations
Review: LA FILLE DU REGIMENT, Royal Ballet And Opera
All's fair in love and war — at least until the hero storms in on a tank.
Review: KING ROGER at Des Moines Metro Opera
This season, Des Moines Metro Opera is taking my favorite type of risk and doing an Opera that audiences might not be familiar with in their final, and most ambitious opera of the season, Karol Szymanowski's 'King Roger.
Review: EUGENE ONEGIN, The Grange Festival
Love, jealousy, arrogance, death and rejection, Tchaikovsky's opera Eugene Onegin has all the trappings of a grand opera, but in essence is a simple story.
Review: LA BOHÈME, Royal Ballet And Opera
On the opening night of director Richard Jones's excellent production of Giacomo Puccini's La bohème, England's captain, Harry Kane, leads his team to the last 16 after scoring two goals against the Democratic of Congo in the World Cup.
Review: I PURITANI, Royal Ballet And Opera
Thirty-four years is a long time to leave an opera in the attic, and I puritani has spent most of that period gathering dust for good reason.
Review: TOSCA at La Monnaie
Before the curtain rises, a Pasolini quote appears.
Review: OF MICE AND MEN at Des Moines Metro Opera
As America celebrates is 250th birthday, 'Of Mice and Men' celebrates it and the 100th birthday of Carlise Floyd by revisiting this timeless story through a new lense.
Review: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM at Wrocław Opera
It's no secret that I'm obsessed with this balet ensemble.
