OPERA THEATER REVIEWS

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...

When I heard mezzo Jamie Barton at the Metropolitan Opera's recital in Central Park in the summer of 2014, she would have knocked my socks off--if I hadn't been wearing sandals. This time around­--newly anointed winner of the 2015 Richard Tucker Award--at a concert presented by WQXR at New York's G...

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....

What is truly amazing - a miracle really - is the entire production began rehearsals (including learning the music as well as staging) on August 13 and opened on August 21. That this ensemble, directed and choreographed by the talented powerhouse Jeffrey Polk, was able to put the rock opera togethe...

Considering all the second-rate operas by men that have received first-rate productions at major houses, it's a shock that the performances of Dame Ethel Smyth's early 20th-century opera, THE WRECKERS, at Bard Music Festival was the stage premiere of the work in this country. And a dazzling one it ...

Sir David McVicar's latest creation for Opera Australia, Mozart's THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO is a beautiful blend of a comic tale of the goings-on in an aristocratic home, well-paced music and stunning visuals....

Plays through 8/8/15...

At a time when we're often inundated with yet another TOSCA, BOHEME or CARMEN at major opera houses, the Caramoor Festival in Katonah, NY--a couple of hours north of New York City in summer traffic--manages to bring some relief, thanks to the efforts of its Music Director Will Crutchfield. On July 1...

Opera Australia pairs the beautiful grandeur of 17th Century Spain with Giuseppe Verdi's fabulous score as they bring DON CARLOS back to the Sydney Opera House....

From the moment that Scott Schoonover raised his baton to invoke that incredible athletic overture it was re-confirmed to me that DON GIOVANNI is indeed the zenith of 18th Century opera...

The tragic tale of the Courtesan and Nobleman, driven apart by a father concerned for his family's reputation is played out in Giuseppe Verdi's LA TRAVIATA....

Opera Australia's production of TURANDOT blends Puccini's famous music with striking costumes and elements of Chinese Opera to encourage the audience to imagine an Imperial China filled with crowds waiting for the execution of the latest suitor to fail the Princess' challenge....

At Masada—the mountain fortress in Israel's Judean Desert--a group of besieged Jewish rebels killed themselves rather than be taken alive by the Romans almost 2000 years ago. In Puccini's TOSCA, the eponymous heroine jumps from Rome's Castel Sant'Angelo rather than being taken prisoner for killing...

Pity the poor also-rans in operatic history: Leoncavallo's LA BOHEME and even Rossini's OTELLO are perhaps the most famous titles. Oh, yes: We mustn't forget Giovanni Paisiello's IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA—not after hearing On Site Opera's production in New York last week, we can't. Downstairs, upsta...

Music Theatre Wichita is off and running. The 2015 season is full of old favorites and new adventures, beginning with Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida directed by Mark Madama....

This review was first published by KDHX 88-1 St. Louis. Opera Theatre of St. Louis has opened a very fine production of 'Emmeline,' by Tobias Picker, with libretto by J. D. McClatchy. This remarkable piece premiered at the Santa Fe Opera in 1996 to great praise. It was done at the New York City...

One of the theatrical highlights of the summer, Skylark Opera's Annual Summer Festival, is upon us! As usual, the two shows playing in repertoire include one that's more of a traditional opera (but always in English) and one that skews a bit more towards musical theater: Puccini's LA RONDINE and...

The Pirates of Penzance, Gilbert and Sullivan's classic romp of an opera is pleasure enough; but the lovely open air setting of Wolf Trap Performing Arts Center on a pleasant summer's eve makes the frolics of tender-hearted pirates, not-so-naive maidens and a constabulary force who seem to have misp...