review / performance

Dancing at the edge of the world Dancing at the edge of the world

Puccini’s schmaltziest, most melodic, most dramatically limp, most cynical, most obscure mature work

on March 28, 2024 at 10:30 AM
Character is destiny Character is destiny

La forza del destino concluded its run at the Metropolitan Opera with a significant cast change.

on March 26, 2024 at 9:00 AM
Brazilian brass lift Brazilian brass lift

The past seems to be in conversation with the present.

on March 20, 2024 at 10:00 AM
Women on the verge of a nervous breakup Women on the verge of a nervous breakup

Not in my wildest dreams could I have come up with anything more homosexual than the sight of Almodóvar muse Rossy de Palma in a stage-length wedding gown onstage Madrid’s Teatro Real.

on March 20, 2024 at 9:00 AM
If on a winter’s night a traveler If on a winter’s night a traveler

The tragic speaker of Schubert’s Winterreise makes his fateful journey but once, yet some singers cannot help trodding the path again and again.

on March 19, 2024 at 9:00 AM
Unqualified triumph Unqualified triumph

Since I began regularly attending performances at Lyric Opera of Chicago in 1999, I have been a great admirer of director Francesca Zambello’s productions.

on March 18, 2024 at 9:00 AM
<em>Femenine</em> mystique <em>Femenine</em> mystique

“What I am trying to achieve is to be what I am to the fullest. Black to the fullest, a musician to the fullest, a homosexual to the fullest.”

on March 15, 2024 at 10:00 AM
The artist is present The artist is present

And is this ‘Orpheus’ in the room with us right now?

on March 14, 2024 at 10:00 AM
Bird brain Bird brain

Opera at the Kennedy Center has been in hibernation this winter.

on March 13, 2024 at 10:09 AM
Muti point Muti point

It would be enough to compare his official studio recording of this work with the recent performances in Turin to confirm that today Riccardo Muti is no longer totally ‘Mutian’

on March 13, 2024 at 9:00 AM
Color me impressed Color me impressed

Bay Area audiences starved for vocal fare during its opera’s winter/spring hiatus recently experienced two exceptional concerts with distinguished singing at the Davies Symphony Hall.

on March 12, 2024 at 9:00 AM
A fire sparkling in lovers’ eyes A fire sparkling in lovers’ eyes

It’s not hard not to feel jaded about Romeo and Juliet.

on March 11, 2024 at 9:00 AM
Garden varieties Garden varieties

Those of us in New York City who relish 17th century Italian vocal music were offered an enticing banquet over the past few weeks.

on March 07, 2024 at 9:00 AM
Diplomatic immunity Diplomatic immunity

Émigré, unfortunately, fails to do justice, either musically or theatrically, to this group of refugees or to the Shanghainese who took them in.

on March 06, 2024 at 10:00 AM