OPERA THEATER REVIEWS

“How do I live? I live!” Exclaimed Mackenzie Whitney as Rodolfo in Madison Opera's fifth incarnation of Giacomo Puccini's La Bohéme. Among the stunning lyrics speaking of love, poverty, and poetry, it was this simple exclamation that stood out on its own....

Who or what is Lulu, the eponymous character in Alban Berg's landmark opera? Is she saint or sinner? Femme fatale or victim? Put-upon or mistress of her own fate? Whatever else she might be, she is fabulous in the hands of German soprano Marlis Petersen, as the center of William Kentridge's vibrant,...

The Richard Tucker Music Foundation's annual galas--celebrating each year's winner of the Tucker Award to young American singers--are known for two things. First, they are notoriously fun evenings of opera warhorses and, second, they are guessing games: Which of the singers scheduled to perform won'...

Alban Berg's opera Wozzeck is not the first to swirl with immortal themes like power play, lust, betrayal, and death (far, far from it), but thanks to the circumstances of its composition - further emphasized by Sir David McVicar's new production at the Lyric Opera - it is prominent in its search to...

The title character in Puccini's TOSCA is the quintessential diva--a grand performer ('goddess' in Italian) who thinks the world revolves around her, particularly when it comers to her lover, painter Mario Cavaradossi. The same might be said for soprano Angela Gheorghiu, who used to be a top attract...

St. Louis' Winter Opera gives a delightful 'Yeomen of the Guard.'...

The recital at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall on October 24 by the winners of the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition was like an “amuse bouche”--a gift from the chef at the start of a meal at a fine French restaurant to tickle your tongue. It was absolutely delicious, but left you hungering f...

One thing you should know about Richard Strauss's ELEKTRA: When it's done right, the audience works itself into a fever pitch and—after the orchestra has played the final notes—it stands and screams its head off. I've seen this before and it happened again the other night, with sopranos Christin...

Almost 40 years ago, on short notice, the great tenor Jon Vickers (who died this summer at 90) caused a scandal when he pulled out of the premiere of the Met's still-current production of Wagner's 'Tannhauser' because he considered the opera anti-Christian. Well, nothing that exciting happened when...

Bravo to the Collegiate Chorale for taking things up a notch--changing its name to MasterVoices and taking on an ambitious season that opened with a semi-staged production of Gilbert & Sullivan's THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE at New York City Center, with a game cast including some top Broadway performers...

Deftly sung by a chorus of 100+ Broadway and Opera Veterans...

Gilbert and Sullivan's comic operetta, 'H.M.S. Pinafore,' made its debut last weekend at the Hillcrest Center for the Arts, and for all intents and purposes, it was just another in a long line of highly entertaining shows staged by the venerable Ventura County Gilbert & Sullivan Repertoire Company. ...

The Met came late to the trio of Donizetti operas about British queens, when it finally mounted ANNA BOLENA mounted for Anna Netrebko in 2011. This was long after Beverly Sills made her deal with the devil, trading her voice for the cover of Time Magazine, by singing Anne Boleyn, Mary Queen of Scots...

The two hilarious comic opera 's presented were Mozart's Bastien und Bastienne and Offenbach's La Chanson de Fortunio....

When Verdi and Boito were writing their operatic version of Shakespeare's OTHELLO, they were competing with the already-successful (though less faithful) version written by Rossini and thought about calling their opera IAGO. After seeing Bartlett Sher's new production of the Verdi OTELLO, I wondered...

Leoš Jana?ek's THE CUNNING LITTLE VIXEN is reinterpreted by Michael Campbell (Director) in this new collaboration between Pacific Opera, Sydney Youth Orchestra and Sydney Grammar School....

Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky hadn't even opened his mouth, as the Count di Luna, when the audience went wild at the season's premiere of Verdi's IL TROVATORE. It was as if he had just sung Sondheim's “I'm Still Here”--after announcing earlier this year that he had a brain tumor and was c...

n a new season celebrating creative women, Skylight Music Opera opens with an elegant tribute to composer Giacomo Puccini's Tosca. Jill Anna Ponasik, Artistic Director of Milwaukee Opera Theatre, weaves the libretto by Luigi Illica and Amanda Holden's English translastion into a visually stunning an...

Washington National Opera began what may be one of its more artistically challenging seasons Saturday with the most crowd-pleasing production....

Anticipation has kept Facebook and Twitter buzzing...

NBR New Zealand Opera has been going from strength to strength over recent years, and this latest production of Tosca is no exception. Cleverly set during the Cold War era of Italy during the 1950s, this production stars two internationally famous New Zealanders, the tenor Simon O'Neill and the b...

AIDA at Woodminster. The love triangle between Nubian Princess Aida, Egyptian Captain Radames and his Princess Amneris will tug at your heartstrings. But only thru September 13. Get your tickets now!...

One cannot imagine what the first audience felt when Verdi broke the mould of the requiem....

They've done it! Little Union Avenue Opera and its leader Scott Schoonover bring home the gold! They have triumphed over that colossus of all operatic colossi-Wagner's Ring Cycle! They entered the battle wielding the magic sword of talent and determination and, just like Siegfried, they have conquer...

State Opera of South Australia is presenting one of the grandest of grand operas, Charles Gounod's Faust....