Cavalcade of stars
Back-to-back casts in the Metropolitan Opera’s revivals of Madama Butterfly and La traviata offer ample opportunity for soprano-gazing.
Reviews
Asp and you shall receive
A first-time operagoer is lured to Thaïs at Opera Idaho by the promise of a new experience… and Neil, the Burmese python
By Drew Godbehere
39 comments
Youth has no age
Led by Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Yoann Combémorel, the Curtis Symphony Orchestra proves themselves the equal of any major American orchestra in a program of Mahler, Wagner, and Dawson.
Anime sante degli avi
Madama Butterfly confronts anime, virtual reality, and weeaboos in Matthew Ozawa‘s bold production at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Hit me with your best Shoshty
Barrie Kosky’s zany production of The Nose time-steps back onto the Komische Oper Berlin stage.
Suffering a sea-change
Calixto Bieito‘s production of Idomeneo at La Monnaie is anchored by a committed cast, but gets swept up in pseudo-psychoanalytic imagery — and foot fetishism.
Which witch?
Washington National Opera offered a searing production of Robert Ward’s opera The Crucible, directed by WNO Artistic Director Francesca Zambello, as the second installment in the company’s next chapter.
Follow the signs
Opera directors could learn a thing or two from Deaf Broadway’s vivacious performance of Jeanine Tesori‘s Violet.
Gild the Lily
Lisette Oropesa, Piotr Buszewski, and Luca Salsi feature in a rote revival of Michael Mayer‘s cloying production of La traviata.
Death becomes her and him
El último sueño de Frida y Diego at the Lyric Opera of Chicago is a visual and sonic wonder, but a weak libretto dampens its effect.
By the (little red) book
Kent Nagano gives a boost to the Opéra national de Paris‘s revival of Nixon in China.
Rags to riches
In its first production since departing the Kennedy Center, the Washington National Opera presents a new adaptation of “King of Ragtime” Scott Joplin’s opera Treemonisha.
The company of wolves
Matthias Pintscher’s Nuit sans aube at the Opéra Comique conjures up plenty of atmosphere — but not much else.
By spirit alone
A sublime Reginald Mobley and the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra are a balm for troubled times in a program of baroque selections and spirituals.
Pearl Jam
Washington Concert Opera returned to its roots with a delightful performance of Georges Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs de perles.
An embarrassment of riches
A David Lang premiere at the New York Philharmonic brings a wealth of musical delights — and bodes well for Gustavo Dudamel‘s leadership.
Lady in the dark
Golda Schultz and Jonathan Ware present Dark Matter(s), an intriguing program of songs, at the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society.
Hercules conquers Carnegie
William Guanbo Su and Ann Hallenberg are compelling in The English Concert’s presentation of Handel‘s Hercules at Carnegie Hall.
Once I was a schlepper, now I’m Miss Mazeppa
John Danaher on the world-premiere recording of Clémence de Grandval‘s wild and worthy Mazeppa, the latest release from the operatic archaeologists at Palazzetto Bru Zane.
Here, there, and everywhere
David Fox and Dan Johnson report on Yannick Nézet-Seguin‘s recent performances of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Philadelphia Orchestra in Philadelphia and New York.
By David Fox and Dan Johnson
13 comments
O Say, Can You Kelsey
Baritone Quinn Kelsey’s recital of English-language art songs in partnership with pianist Craig Ketter was a worthy celebration of Vocal Arts DC’s 35th-anniversary season.
Tunnel vision
Lise Davidsen, Michael Spyres, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin are astonishing in Tristan und Isolde at the Met, while Yuval Sharon‘s new production is anything but.
Back to school
Time to Act at Pittsburgh Opera effectively employs Greek tragedy to explore the all-too-common tragedies haunting schools across the United States.
Is this head kosher?
A captivating Asmik Grigorian leads the Bayerishce Staatsoper‘s revival of its Holocaust-set Salome.
Win a Free Ticket to Opening Night at the Met!
Quinn Kelsey and Lise Davidsen star in the Met's new Macbeth. We're giving away one ticket, so screw your courage to the sticking place and enter now!
