OPERA THEATER REVIEWS

The great mezzo Joyce DiDonato stripped for her art at Sunday's wonderful performance of Handel's ALCINA with the English Concert under conductor Harry Bicket. For the first act, when she was still at the height of her powers as a sorceress, she came out in a gorgeous black and gray gown with the pu...

Once again, the State Opera Company of South Australia is offering a superior production that is sure to please Adelaide's opera lovers....

FRANKENSTEIN, THE MUSICAL is based on the original novel by Mary Shelley and has music by Mark Baron, lyrics by Jeffrey Jackson, and a book by Jackson and Gary P. Cohen. The story follows Shelley's novel quite closely, and is ultimately about man reaching for the power of God, while battling the tw...

Only someone who arrived convinced of the opera's bias could have found the Met's premiere of the John Adams-Alice Goodman THE DEATH OF KLINGHOFFER to be anti-Semitic. On the other hand, that doesn't mean that it's even-handed....

Verdi was a master at crescendo. In "Masked Ball," the score foreshadows and defines even while characters defy fate. As Count Anckarstrom laments his wife's betrayal in the opera's third act, the harp and violin take turn in old romance and revenge, building to a grand determination. Like Verdi's "...

Pretty Yende--a name that in itself brings certain expectations as well as smiles--burst on the New York opera scene at the start of 2013, in a baptism by fire. At just 27, the South African soprano from Piet Retief, Mpumalanga memorably stepped into one of the lead roles in the revival of Rossini's...

Soprano Anna Netrebko was AWOL. Tenor Marcello Giordani wasn't there. Mezzo Isabel Leonard didn't make it either. At least tenor Richard Tucker (1913-1975) had the best excuse for not being at Avery Fisher Hall on Sunday evening. But, as they say “the show must go on”--and the annual gala of The...

Arizona Opera goes pop with its presentation of the soi-disant mariachi opera, Cruzar la Cara de la Luna....

These characters are awful, foolish people, and I hate them. Let me illustrate. Just for kicks, the Duke of Mantua, with the help of his court jester, Rigoletto, seduces Countess Ceprano, wife of Count Ceprano. After helping the Duke bed the countess, Rigoletto spends a good portion of time mocking ...

A little slapstick here, a little mysticism there, some knockout arias, a love story, parental conflict--put them all together and you have Mozart's DIE ZAUBERFLOTE--better known in these parts as THE MAGIC FLUTE. Add a good cast and a spectacular production with wonderful effects, flying boys, Bunr...

Ever since I heard Anna Netrebko's “Verdi” album last year, which highlighted excerpts from the operatic treatment of Shakespeare's MACBETH, I knew her Verdi was the real deal and couldn't wait for her to take on the full Lady Macbeth on stage. Her performances in the Adrian Noble production cur...

The wonderful German singer Rene Pape made history when he made his recital debut at the Met last week—the first bass to perform a solo program at the house. He showed off his dexterity with languages, singing in German, Russian and English, and his ability to move from art songs to musical comedy...

I Capuleti e i Montecchi, the two act Italian opera by Vincenzo Bellini, is a delightful and tragic retelling fn those famous Shakespearean star-crossed lovers. Although the libretto (by Felice Romani) is based not on the original Shakespeare, but a combination of Italian adaptations, most notably t...

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...

The enchanted journey we embark upon with Washington National Opera's season opener Florencia in the Amazon is a production filled with beauty and a timeless truth....

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....

As has been the tradition for quite a few seasons, Theater at Monmouth ends its season with a production of one of Gilbert and Sullivan's comic operettas. This year's choice, The Sorcerer, is a frothy, pleasant entertainment enhanced by the strong vocal merits of much of the cast. The pristine neo- ...

The long awaited return of the country's first full-length grand opera NOLI ME TANGERE (a full stage production of the opera* was last seen in Manila 27 years ago), inspired by Jose Rizal's 1887 classic romantic novel 'Noli Me Tangere' ('Touch Me Not'), featuring music by National Artist Felipe de L...

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...