OPERA THEATER REVIEWS

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....

Von Stade out of retirement is cause for celebration, but there's no other purpose to the vehicle for it...

For their annual summer festival, Skylark Opera is presenting the Leonard Bernstein classic operetta Candide and the musical revue Berlin to Broadway with Kurt Weill....

I love theater that challenges me as an audience member and An American Soldier does just that....

In New York, Donizetti's ROBERTO DEVEREUX will forever be associated with Beverly Sills' powerful portrayal of Elizabeth I, and her stern photo glaring out from the cover of Time Magazine. However, Italian soprano Mariella Devia, a vocal miracle at 66, nearly caused a riot in the role at Carnegie Ha...

Il Divo's A MUSICAL AFFAIR lives up to its promise and brings impressed and appreciative audience members enthusiastically to their feet. The Providence show marked the final stop on Il Divo's North American tour and, rather fittingly, this "love letter" to musical theater graced PPAC's stage on t...

Well, it worked on me! 'The Elixir of Love' opened last night at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and after only a sip or two I fell head over heels for it. At the end of the evening I was, like Nemorino, giddy (oh, let's admit it, the better word is 'drunk') with happiness and delight. It was si...

When New York's Gotham Chamber Opera--in collaboration with the Gerald Lynch Theatre at John Jay College--presented Toshio Hosokawa's THE RAVEN in its US premiere last week, as part of the NY Philharmonic Biennial, the composer could not have wished for a production that made a better case for it. Y...

The Hagerstown Hub Opera production of one of Mozart's most famous operas, The Marriage of Figaro, is an enjoyable way to spend an evening, providing audiences with gorgeous music and vocals and very clever caricatures of the well known opera buffa stereotypes....

Opera Theatre of St. Louis has opened its thirty-ninth season with a bang. Their production of The Magic Flute is unlike any other you've seen (or ever will see)....