“A revival of Verdi’s Ernani at the Met on Thursday proved tastefully understated. In other words, it missed the point entirely.” Our Own JJ was there for the New York Post.
“Revelation comes in the strangest places. Like, for example, I had this eventual moment of clarity about what it was that went wrong in the Lepage Ring, and what do you think sparked it? Of all things, last night’s performance of Ernani at the Met.” Our Own JJ sounds off at Musical America. (Photo: Ken Howard)
“After the mishaps and delays that have plagued Robert Lepage’s production of Wagner’s Ring cycle at the Met, the most suspenseful part of the final installment was waiting for the set to break down. Actually, during the nearly six hours of Götterdämmerung (‘Twilight of the Gods’), nothing went wrong—but not much went right either.” [New York Post]
“Opera takes its inspiration from all sorts of sources: plays, novels, even real life. But Kamala Sankaram’s Miranda must be the first to meld science fiction, a murder mystery and reality TV.”
Our Own JJ liked everything about The Enchanted Island except The Enchanted Island.
Our Own JJ gets into the traditional holiday mood, journalist style, by cobbling together a listicle of last-minute shopping options. [New York Post]
“In an unlikely venue—a converted gymnasium off Avenue B—one of New York’s newest opera companies is keeping musical tradition alive.” [New York Post]
“An atomic explosion kicked off the last act of Gounod’s Faust Tuesday at the Met, but the production as a whole was more dud than bomb.” [New York Post]
“Now that it has become apparent that Robert Lepage‘s production of the Ring at the Met is a fiasco (too soon? Nah.)… well, anyway, since arguably the production is a dreary, unworkable, overpriced mess whose primary (perhaps only) virtue is that it actually hasn’t killed anyone yet, and since, let’s face it, the Machinecentric show turned out to be so mind-bogglingly expensive (all those Sunday tech rehearsals with stagehands being paid, no doubt, in solid platinum ingots!), something has to be done. In this article, I intend to propose that ‘something’.” Our Own JJ gets prescriptive at Musical America. (Image based on photos by Ken Howard)
“Now, it seems, OONY is returning to its star-driven roots, opening its season last night at Carnegie Hall with superstars Angela Gheorghiu and Jonas Kaufmann in Cilea’s sentimental diva vehicle Adriana Lecouvreur. The have to be there quotient was boosted to the roof by the fact that this performance would be Gheorghiu’s only New York appearance of the season since she chose not to participate in the Met’s new production of Gounod’s Faust.” Our Own JJ reflects on last evening’s Sternstunde in Capital New York. (Photo: Stephanie Berger)
Cher Public