Opera Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 31

BWW Review: LA BOH ME at The Flour Shed, Hart's Mill
by Barry Lenny - December 15, 2017

Watch out for the Intermezzo Series next year, as well as all of Co-Opera's touring productions....

BWW Review: Sierra's the Winner, But Blythe Steals the 2017 Richard Tucker Gala at Carnegie Hall
by Richard Sasanow - December 15, 2017

It was great that the 2017 Richard Tucker Gala was heard live on WQXR.org and on WQXR radio on Sunday, but those of us who were in Carnegie Hall had it much better. This year's winner, soprano Nadine Sierra, sounded wonderful (and looked ravishing, by the way) as she whipped through Verdi's 'Caro n...

BWW Review: Deck the Halls with Handel's MESSIAH at Saint Thomas's in New York
by Richard Sasanow - December 08, 2017

Nothing says Christmas in New York like a performance of Handel's great sacred oratorio MESSIAH--okay, for some it's the windows at one of the big department stores--with some outings decidedly religious, like this week's pair of wonderful performances at Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue. Featurin...

BWW Review: Vive L'ENFANT! From Juilliard's Troops with Conductor Villaume at Alice Tully Hall
by Richard Sasanow - December 07, 2017

The Juilliard Orchestra and Opera beat the Met to the punch this week, featuring French conductor Emmanuel Villaume in a superb concert of Ravel and Debussy, including a lovely performance of Ravel's short opera, L'ENFANT ET LES SORTILEGES, with its clever libretto by the French novelist, Colette. I...

BWW Review: New TROYENS Recording with DiDonato, Spyres and Lemieux is a Horse of a Different Color
by Richard Sasanow - December 06, 2017

Nothing beats sitting in the opera house for the thrill of hearing singers giving their all. But the new recording of Berlioz's LES TROYENS (THE TROJANS), conducted by John Nelson, comes pretty close. Taken from a couple of live concert performances in Strasbourg, France, at the Salle Erasme, with a...

BWW Review: LA STRANIERA at Washington Concert Opera
by Molly Korroch - November 28, 2017

Washington Concert Opera brings a nicely performed La Straniera to Lisner Auditorium nearly two hundred years after its premiere at La Scala Milan. Vincenzo Bellini's first Milanese success took place in 1827 in the form of Il pirata. Two years later, he stood in a shadow of his own making. He neede...

BWW Review: VERDI SPECTACULAR at Adelaide Town Hall
by Barry Lenny - November 21, 2017

The finest orchestra, finest opera chorus, and some of the finest soloists, what more could you want?...

BWW Review: CARMEN - Austin Opera's Stunning Masterpiece
by Lynn Beaver - November 18, 2017

Austin Opera continues its tradition of masterfully recreating classic operas with Bizet's CARMEN currently playing at The Long Center....

BWW Review: MADAMA BUTTERFLY at Metropolitan Opera
by Peter Danish - November 16, 2017

The best new production of the Gelb era is now ten years old. And it still has the power to please....

BWW Review: LA CENERENTOLA at Opera De Montreal
by Maggie Owen - November 15, 2017

L'Opera de Montreal delights audiences with its production of Rossini's La Cenerentola. The show has a short run in Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier at Place Des Arts November 11, 14, 16 and 18 at 7:30....

BWW Review: Winter Opera's 'The Student Prince' is superb!
by Steve Callahan - November 16, 2017

Winter Opera continues its tradition of stunning quality in its revival of 'The Student Prince'....

BWW Review: SAN DIEGO OPERA'S PRODUCTION OF AS ONE at Joan B Kroc Theatre
by Ron Bierman - November 14, 2017

If a spouse transitions from one sex to another in a state where gay marriage is illegal, is the marriage still valid? There are many possible reactions to that question, including heated discussion, juvenile giggling, or reactionary distaste. Composer Laura Kaminsky chose empathy for those most dir...

BWW Review: ALCINA at Washington National Opera
by Molly Korroch - November 10, 2017

Alcina showcases all the best aspects of Handel's skill without getting bogged down by melismatic asides. Every aria has a purpose. Every word moves the plot forward or gives depth to the characters. Indeed, the show moves briskly. (The 'approximately three hour' run time is a bit of an overstatemen...

BWW Review: Soprano Chuchman Excels in Pergolesi STABAT MATER at Lincoln Center's White Light Festival
by Richard Sasanow - November 06, 2017

Lincoln Center's White Light Festival devoted a pair of evenings last week to a staged performance of Pergolesi's gorgeous hymn to Mary, STABAT MATER, directed by choreographer Jessica Lang (originally done several years ago at the Glimmerglass Festival in upstate NY). It featured a pair of lyric so...

BWW Review: Top 10 Moments from the COC's Ensemble Studio Competition
by Taylor Long - November 02, 2017

Canada is a country known for its musical talent. The Canadian Opera Company's Ensemble Studio Competition, CENTRE STAGE, showcased a curated selection of that talent last night. The competition auditions singers from across the country and selects a few lucky artists to compete for an invitation to...

BWW Review: EXTERMINATING ANGEL - Up Close and Personal with the Indiscreet Charms of the Upper Class at the Met
by Richard Sasanow - November 01, 2017

It's 'deja vu all over again' goes the quip attributed to the NY Yankees pitcher Yogi Berra. But that's the feeling I had with Thomas Ades's THE EXTERMINATING ANGEL, with libretto based on the Luis Bunuel film, 'El angel exterminador,' by Tom Cairns and the composer. (Cairns also directed.) Not that...

BWW Review: EMMA MATTHEWS, JACQUELINE DARK, AND TAHU MATHESON at Ukaria Cultural Centre
by Barry Lenny - October 31, 2017

Two of Australia's favourite artists, Emma Matthews and Jacqueline Dark....

BWW Review: CARMEN at Hart's Mill, Port Adelaide
by Barry Lenny - October 29, 2017

Andrew Turner is sensational as Don Jose in this production....

BWW Review: City Opera's Chamber Version of DOLORES CLAIBORNE Proves Fitzgerald Was Wrong
by Richard Sasanow - October 27, 2017

There are no second acts in American lives, wrote F. Scott Fitzgerald in 'The Last Tycoon.' New York City Opera proves him wrong, with its new chamber version of the Tobias Picker-JD McClatchy 2013 opus DOLORES CLAIBORNE. Based on a novel by Stephen King perhaps better known from the film starring ...

BWW Review: DIE FLEDERMAUS at Her Majesty's Theatre
by Barry Lenny - October 26, 2017

This was another winner for State Opera...

BWW Review: THE MERRY WIDOW Romances Milwaukee at The Florentine Opera Company
by Kelsey Lawler - October 22, 2017

As a sometimes-self-identifying Millennial, it may come as little surprise that opera is relatively new territory for me. I've grown up as a lover of musical theater, but classic opera is a whole other ball o' wax. Mainstream media doesn't exactly drop Verdi, Mozart, Leh r, or even Gilbert & Sulliva...

BWW Review: THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE at San Diego Civic Center
by Ron Bierman - October 18, 2017

The Pirates of Penzance--opera or operetta? The answer to that question seems important to some opera lovers who believe a 'serious' opera company doesn't do operettas. Too bad for them if their doubts made them miss out on San Diego Opera's hugely entertaining production. A nearly sold-out audience...

BWW Review: NABUCCO at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
by Maria Nockin - October 15, 2017

On Oct 14, 2017, Los Angeles Opera presented Giuseppe Verdi's third opera, NABUCCO in a new and extremely well detailed production by Thaddeus Strassberger....

BWW Review: COC's ELIXIR OF LOVE is Charming to the Core
by Taylor Long - October 12, 2017

Small town charm is the fuel for the Canadian Opera Company's ELIXIR OF LOVE. Set in any town Ontario, Donizetti's beloved characters appear even more appealing and recognizable in James Robinson's quaint production. As part of the bel canto operatic repertoire, beautiful singing is an exception...

BWW Review: DON PASQUALE at Opera Studio
by Barry Lenny - October 09, 2017

Director, Cath Dadd, has put together an hilarious production with a cast to die for....