OPERA THEATER REVIEWS

It maintains the opera’s timeless charm, strong wit, and with a cast that never takes itself seriously, leads to an evening that has the audience roaring with laughter....

The Metropolitan Opera somehow managed to upstage itself on Thursday, when it offered audiences a spectacular recital by Norwegian soprano Lisa Davidsen, with her excellent musical partner James Baillieu, on piano, 12 days before the company’s official opening night (the Jake Heggie-Terrence McNal...

What did our critic think of TOSCA at Cape Town Opera?...

Given his political radicalism and fervent romanticism, it is more than fair to wonder if Richard Wagner would be partial to Just Stop Oil. Sporting his iconic beret, would he, if he were around today, brandish banners and block cars on the M1? Barrie Kosky may think so. He thrusts Wagner’s ecolog...

The thrill of operatic voices singing up close and personal in a radical re-interpretation of an opera ripe for bringing into the 21st century...

The outstanding cast and provocative production, merged with Wagner’s indisputably monumental music and drama, made this Rheingold a de rigueur happening...

Beautifully sung South American opera flawed a little by its overpowering religious messaging....

Boutique opera now 72 years old but could have been written yesterday in terms of its music, its themes and its relevance, performed with verve and confidence...

Super show, a little slow at first, but blossoming into an escapist entertainment that can be enjoyed as much in the 2020s as it was in the 1880s...

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....

A strong score, neat production by Mehmet Ergen and an excellent cast make it worth a watch, even if it has several plot-related issues...

Jonathan Dove's music underpins and enhances the tale of a teen suddenly thrust into a world of corporate power and environmental exploitation...

The famed playwright and wit George S. Kaufman once said, “Satire is what closes on Saturday night.” One can only imagine what Kaufman--whose many credits include YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU, as well as the source of Sondheim’s MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG, which is circling Broadway for a return ...

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

Usually, when long-neglected works somehow find their way to the forefront, we find there’s a pretty good reason for the lack of interest. Happily for us, this does not apply to Donizetti’s POLIUTO, which Will Crutchfield’s Teatro Nuovo performed last weekend at Montclair State’s Kasser Thea...

“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....

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...

Unique production defies easy categorisation, but thrills and appals to live long in the memory...

An atmospheric story of a group of trapped explorers at the mercy of mother nature, the UK premiere of Joby Talbot’s Everest has a chillingly eerie resonance....

A lacklustre central performance shifts the focus towards Charlotte's tragedy instead of Werther's....

As I sat down to write about the delightful recent performance I heard of Rossini’s IL TURCO IN ITALIA at Madrid’s Teatro Real, with soprano Lisette Ororpesa in a charming new production by Laurence Pelly, I went to Spotify to see what kind of recordings were around. I was surprised to find more...

As I sat down to write about the delightful recent performance I heard of Rossini’s IL TURCO IN ITALIA at Madrid’s Teatro Real, with soprano Lisette Ororpesa in a charming new production by Laurence Pelly, I went to Spotify to see what kind of recordings were around. I was surprised to find more...

As a first taster to opera, Opera Holland Park's Hansel and Gretel isn't a bad place to start....

Adele Thomas' new production is a rollicking clash of carnivalesque weirdness and heartfelt desire....

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 k...