Review: TOSCA, Starring Anna Netrebko, Royal Ballet and Opera
If you come to opera via film musicals and, later, stage shows, Tosca is amongst the most accessible.
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Review: THE MAGIC FLUTE at Her Majesty's Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre
A thought-provoking reworking of Mozart's popular opera.
Review: BBC PROMS: THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO FROM GLYNDEBOURNE, Royal Albert Hall
Mozart's beloved comedy The Marriage of Figaro opened Glyndebourne's very first Festival in 1934 and is the renowned opera house's most performed work.
Review: SEMELE, Starring Hilary Cronin, Opera Holland Park
In the 35 years I've been going to Opera Holland Park, I've never been disappointed by the music, performances and sheer joy of being in the open air with accompanying local sound effects.
Review: CARMEN at Wolf Trap
The ever popular and hardy perennial of the operatic canon, composer Georges Bizet’s Carmen, was given a unique yet solid interpretation by the Wolf Trap Opera under the direction of John de los Santos.
Review: SALOME at Union Avenue Opera
Kelly Slawson brings a dazzlingly powerful, beautiful voice to the title role.
Review: Lincoln Center’s Festival Orchestra Concert Covered the Globe, from Paris to Patagonia
Maestro Karen Kamensek opened the Lincoln Center Festival Orchestra’s concert at Geffen Hall—“Paris to Patagonia”—with some interesting introductory remarks that almost sounded like an audition for the Philharmonic’s storied Young People’s Concerts.
Review: BEETHOVEN: I SHALL HEAR IN HEAVEN, Opera Holland Park
This is a great opportunity to hear the breadth of Beethoven’s work performed in a novel way, and the drama does have its flashes of brilliance.
Review: DALIBOR is Smashing Smetana at Bard’s SummerScape under Botstein
Though Bedrich Smetana’s DALIBOR—seen this week at Bard SummmerStage in a wonderful production by Jean-Romain Vesperini, with an ingenious set design by Bruno de Lavenere, a fine cast and the American Symphony Orchestra in impeccable form under Leon Botstein—was reputedly the composer’s favo
Review: Lincoln Center’s Festival Orchestra Concert Is Mostly Mozart under Maestro Glover
“Timeless Transformations” is a key theme of the Festival Orchestra of Lincoln Center’s season at Geffen Hall this year (itself transformed from Avery Fisher Hall and, earlier, Philharmonic Hall).
Review: 'JOSEPHINE' & 'PAGLIACCI' at Union Avenue Opera
A powerful double-bill.
Review: Out Damned Spot—But Hello to Teatro Nuovo’s Unusual MACBETH!
I must admit that I was a little disappointed when I read that this season’s offerings from Will Crutchfield’s Teatro Nuovo featured a couple of familiar titles: Verdi’s MACBETH and Bellini’s LA SONNAMBULA, particularly the former, which one doesn’t think of in the domain of bel canto, the
Review: LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR, Opera Holland Park
Jennifer France gives everything in a role demanding bel canto singing and bloody revenge
Review: LA TRAVIATA, Opera Holland Park
Now on its third revival, Rodula Gaitanou's heart-stopping version of Verdi's tragic La Traviata is as affecting as ever.
Review: FALSTAFF, Glyndebourne Festival
Adapted from Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, director Richard Jones’s glorious Falstaff makes a welcome return to Glyndebourne, losing none of its charm or deft comedy.
Review: SEMELE, Royal Ballet And Opera
Forget Arcadian landscapes and Corinthian columns.
Review: LE NOZZE DI FIGARO, Glyndebourne Festival
You could be forgiven for thinking that there isn’t much more to be said about Le nozze di Figaro, the most performed opera in Glyndebourne’s history.
Review: TRIAL BY JURY/A MATTER OF MISCONDUCT!, Opera Holland Park
A thoughtfully selected double bill making up the operetta segment of Opera Holland Park’s summer season shows the genre at its technical best, but also illuminates its troubling shortcomings.
Review: Old Meets New at Lincoln Center, Mixing George Lewis and Monteverdi in THE COMET/POPPEA
The recent New York premiere of Yuval Sharon’s production of THE COMET/POPPEA at Lincoln Center kicked off the summer’s 5-week residency of the American Modern Opera Company (cheekily known as AMOC, after its penchant for taking a somewhat wild and crazy approach to the art form).
Review: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM at Opera Theatre Of Saint Louis
Opera Theatre of St.
Review: MAZEPPA, Grange Park Opera
Even ardent opera fans may struggle to recall the story or the score for Mazeppa.
Review: Puccini’s TRITTICO Storms the Bastille, Giving Asmik Grigorian Three Times the Showcase
One of the operas at the top of my list for next season at the Met is the Deborah Warner staging of Tchaikovsky’s EUGENE ONEGIN that brings back soprano Asmik Grigorian for the first time since her 2024 debut in MADAMA BUTTERFLY.
Review: DON PASQUALE at Opera Theatre of St. Louis
Susanne Burgess sings Norina, the quintessential bel canto soprano role.
Review: SAUL, Glyndebourne Festival
Just how much fun can you have at an oratorio about a Old Testament tale of jealousy, madness and death? Well, quite a lot as it happens at the return of Barry Kosky's remarkable production of Handel's Saul.
Review: MADAMA BUTTERFLY, Grange Park Opera
Grange Park Opera has opened its new season with a crowd-pleaser.