OPERA THEATER REVIEWS

Thirteen years after its concert premiere with the New York Philharmonic, New Yorkers finally saw a fully staged production of Rodion Shchedrin's opera THE ENCHANTED WANDERER. The Mariisnky Theatre began its two-week residency at the Brooklyn Academy of Music with a one-night only performance of thi...

Donizetti's MARIA STUARDA is a chamber piece blown up to grand opera proportions. That was the takeaway from the new production--that centers on a fictional battle royal between Elizabeth I (Elisabetta) and her cousin Mary (Maria) Stuart, better known as Mary, Queen of Scots--at Barcelona's historic...

Opera Australia brings Puccini's classic TOSCA to life with John Bell's (Director) resetting which takes the story from the Neapolitan occupied Rome of 1800 during the French Revolutionary wars to Nazi occupied Rome 1943 during World War II....

One moment, the performers march militantly across the stage and screech like sirens, the next, they sing Pergolesi's galant Stabat Mater like sweet seraphim. The thirty-one performers of TOXIC PSALMS, the latest production created by conductor Karmina Šilec and her ensemble CARMINA SLOVENICA, have...

THE SCARLET IBIS is one of three new operas to have its world premiere as a part of this year's PROTOTYPE FESTIVAL, New York's incubator for cutting edge, interdisciplinary performance. With any new work, I never fail to ask myself: Did it have an emotional impact? Was it good enough that I would se...

Opera Australia presents a powerful, emotion charged re-imagining of Puccini's LA BOHÈME which proves once again that this love story remains relevant, regardless of which century it is set....

Opera Australia brings back Julie Taymor's modern interpretation of THE MAGIC FLUTE, for the 2015 Summer Season. Translated to English by J D McClatchy, this version, originally created for the Metropolitan Opera of New York in 2005 gives the 18th Century story of the education of mankind a modern ...

For New York opera-goers, what was the event of the year? Undoubtedly, John Adams's THE DEATH OF KLINGHOFFER, not only for the kerfuffle caused by the [unfounded] claims of anti-Semitism but for the opera's exciting debut at the Met. (The Met's contentious labor negotiations nearly edged it out, tho...

It seems only fitting that in its efforts to introduce a musical form as grown-up as the opera to younger audiences, that the Kennedy Center has picked for this holiday season the children's classic THE LITTLE PRINCE, a story all about grown-ups trying to understand children trying to understand gro...

A funny thing happened on the way to Handel's MESSIAH: That would be Monty Python's LIFE OF BRIAN, transformed from the film by Eric Idle (the jokes) and John Du Prez (the music) into NOT THE MESSIAH (HE'S A VERY NAUGHTY BOY). This comic oratorio resulted in a very jolly evening, which The Collegiat...

I never ran a marathon, but I sure sat through one the other night at the Met. Richard Wagner's DIE MEISTERSINGER clocked in at six hours--a quarter of a day--without a god or flying horse in sight. And while the composer referred to this as a comedy, it's not exactly “I Love Lucy” (nor, for tha...

As 'king of the overture,' Rossini certainly knew how to put an audience in a good mood and his GUGLIELMO TELL--better known as WILLIAM TELL--is no exception. With an elaborate introduction that most Americans over a certain age know from “The Lone Ranger” serials and other themes used in decade...

Puccini's LA BOHEME has that magical ability to change its shape depending on the cast. When Pavarotti sang, it became his opera, with a Mimi hard pressed to take the spotlight, even in her death scene. When Stratas, Carreras and Scotto (as Musetta) led the cast, it became a glittery ensemble of sho...

The Pirates of Penzance with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert is an hilarious and hopeful farce concerning Frederic (Chris Yeschenko), who, having completed his 21st year, is released from his apprenticeship to a band of tender-hearted pirates led by the hot-shot Pirate King (t...

Bartlett Sher's production of Rossini's IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA is one of the best of the Gelb years at the Met, with its sliding-doors set by Michael Yeargan and luscious costumes by Catherine Zuber. It was great when it opened with an all-star cast--headed Diana Damrau, Juan Diego Florez and Peter...

Such was the enjoyment of the evening, that a number of people commented that it was such a shame that there was only the one chance to attend....

As one can imagine, an opera created by Ludwig van Beethoven is likely driven by intricate musicality. That assumption would be completely accurate as the plot is fairly simple and the characters are of common theatrical stock. Though these observations are true, Madison Opera's recent production of...

Compared to Dutch soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek as Katerina Ismailova in LADY MACBETH OF MTSENSK at the Met, Barbara Stanwyck and Lana Turner were couple of pikers in their film noir triumphs, “Double Indemnity” and “The Postman Always Rings Twice.” Westbroek kills her father-in-law with rat ...

Arizona Opera's production of Rigoletto, directed by Fenlon Lamb, is a noble and well-constructed effort in portraying the ironic misjudgments of its main characters. It is gifted with notable performances by Peter Volpe as Sparafucile, the assassin; Joseph Barron as Count Monterone; Beth Lytwynec a...

I have always loved opera companies that have the ability to evolve and recreate productions for modern audiences. Typically, Austin Opera always rises to meet this challenge, but regrettably, in this production they miss the mark. Despite some standout performances, A MASKED BALL falls short becaus...

Winter Opera kicks off its eighth season with a simply heavenly production of 'Le Nozze di Figaro'. It's the perfect thing for one's first introduction to opera, or for turning a tentative love of opera into a deep and true commitment....

With a pair of soulful arias by Vivaldi, mezzo Joyce DiDonato and her pianist David Zobel let the audience know right away that they were in for a different part of her artistry than we heard at her concert performance of Handel's ALCINA (also at Carnegie) a week earlier. With an emphasis on thought...

“Ideas of darkness and light, obscurity and illumination” are at the heart of the Benjamin Britten-William Plomer CURLEW RIVER. Called “a parable for church performance,” it was performed in New York at the Synod of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, as part of Lincoln Center's White Ligh...

The Metropolitan Opera may have its spectacular Julie Taymor production of THE MAGIC FLUTE, but the real fun in town is the Mozart at the new Victory Theatre on West 42nd Street, where the South African Isango Ensemble is in residence....

With its universal themes, stunning production design and soaring voices, the Washington National Opera's newest production of La boheme is a beautiful night at the opera....