OPERA THEATER REVIEWS

More than most stagings of Mozart's LE NOZZE DI FIGARO, the new Richard Eyre production that opened the season at the Met made it hard to remember that the miserable duo who head the household were the happy couple of Rossini's IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA....

'Cherubino is crazy in some ways, in good ways,' says Isabel Leonard, who is singing the role of the young male page in the Almaviva household in the Metropolitan Opera's new Richard Eyre production of LE NOZZE DI FIGARO. 'He sees everything in Technicolor, eyes wide open, taking everything in, not...

From the first bombastic notes of Richard Wagner's "Prelude to Act III from Lohengrin" to the last pieces of gold confetti raining down onto the stage after the show-stopping finale, "Twisted: A Trio of Excellence" delighted opening night audiences with a unique fusion of movement and sound set to c...

Think fairytales can be out of fashion? Please think again. Fairytales represent stories beloved and valued by every culture for untold centuries. So when a contemporary, in high fashion fairytale opens the 2014-2015 Skylight Music Theatre's 56th season bringing Milwaukee 'Fairytales and Fantasy' u...

Test Pilot, a world premiere dance opera co-created by Penelope Freeh and Jocelyn Hagen, opened at the O'Shaughnessy Theater in Saint Paul on September 12 as a part of the Women of Substance series at St. Catherine University....

Offering a South African spin on Mozart's beloved opera, the Isango Ensemble brings simple stagecraft and a unique musical flair to Washington for a limited run. Performing in repertory with Shakespeare's VENUS AND ADONIS for a limited run, Isango displays their expert ensemble in a must-see produc...

So how do you sell a show that was conceived and first staged more than 50 years ago--an opera at that --to a younger audience who probably haven't even heard of Verdi, Puccini, or Maria Callas? The much-awaited return of the Filipino stage classic seems to be tackling just that....

Before Thursday's opening night, Opera Australia and John Frost's revival of the Rodger and Hammerstein classic musical The King and I was already a resounding success following positive reviews during it's run in Melbourne, impressive advanced ticket sales and a Helpmann Award for Best Musical. It ...

Set in Tennessee around the time of the Dust Bowl, 'Susannah' takes its inspiration from a story in the book of Daniel. Composer Carlisle Floyd's decision to remove the original's redemptive prophet seems to condemn Christianity, but also gives his revised version the dramatic thrust needed to explo...

The 'red hot' Ailyn Perez-Stephen Costello duo, having been likened to rock star couples, rarely perform together....

The world premiere of PSYCHE: A Modern Rock Opera is undeniably impressive, especially when you consider the scope of the author's vision and the level of detail that has gone into its execution....

Opera Santa Barbara presents The Telephone, a comedic opera in one act for a quick taste of Gian Carlo Menotti's lighter, more humorous work....

The Union Avenue Opera continues its bold venture into Wagner's Ring Cycle with the opening of a fine production of Siegfried, the third in that titanic tetralogical juggernaut that has rolled through opera history since 1874....

As an art form, it seems that opera is having a hard time finding its footing with the current generation of young professionals. Increasingly, opera companies are scaling back as their current subscribers have no one to pass their torches on to. Despite this, dell'Arte Opera Ensemble is continuing ...

This is top quality opera in every direction, no matter what criteria you care to judge it against. Timothy Sexton and Leigh Warren have pulled of a major coup....

The opera has no plot or narrative, but offers sketches, suggests thoughts and, perhaps could be best described as an impressionist opera....

In New York City, summer and Shakespeare go hand in hand. For their 2014 Season the dell'Arte Opera Ensemble is producing 'A Summer of Shakespeare,' and they kicked off this season with a fully staged production of Henry Purcell's THE FAIRY QUEEN. While giving the show a modern twist, dell'Arte Oper...

Andre Previn's operatic adaptation of 'A Streetcar Named Desire' opens at the Union Avenue Opera....

It's easy for opera-lovers to complain about the homogenization of casting at the world's great houses—particularly when there's only a small handful of Annas, Jonases, Juan Diegos, Cecilias, etc., that everybody wants to hear. So it was a treat to hear the visiting Bolshoi's concert performance o...

When you think of classic operas LA TRAVIATA is certainly one that immediately comes to mind. Composer Giuseppe Verdi (with a libretto by Francesco Maria Piave) created a wonderful piece that has stood the test of time, and when hearing it, you'll often find a number of familiar themes, some of whic...

The Houston Grand Opera's brilliant production of Mieczyslaw Weinberg's THE PASSENGER, directed by David Pountney, was a stunning visitor to the Park Avenue Armory last week as a coproduction with the Lincoln Center Festival. It's not an easy experience, but well worth the effort....

Music director Mark Sforzini and stage director Bill Leavengood have struck gold with their top-flight cast. If you haven't gotten your tickets yet, then do so quickly. This fantastic production features several performances that should not be missed....

I'd call it “love at first sight” (or, more properly, “first hearing”), but this wasn't the first time I'd heard mezzo Jamie Barton. And I certainly hope it won't be the last. Her performances at opening of this year's Summer Recital Series from the Metropolitan Opera at Central Park's Summe...

The Opera Theatre of St. Louis has opened the fourth production in its June festival season--'The Dialogues of the Carmelites', by Francis Poulenc. The cast features some St. Louis favorites: Kelly Kaduce, who gave us that jaw-dropping Salome five years ago, now plays a much timider leading lady-...

Opera Theatre of St. Louis has just opened a new commissioned work entitled simply '27'. With music by Ricky Ian Gordon and libretto by Royce Vavrek, it brings us into the world of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas....