Reviews

Those in glass houses Those in glass houses

Krzysztof Warlikowski‘s Der Rosenkavalier at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées surpasses even Nigel Wilkinson‘s high ‘WTF threshhold’

You can go your own way You can go your own way

Eli Jacobson on a luscious evening of early Strauss with Guntram at Carnegie Hall

Not an asset to the abbey Not an asset to the abbey

Francesco Filidei’s new opera The Name of the Rose struggles to bridge the past and the present in Milan

The sweet escape? The sweet escape?

A plodding La bohème in San Francisco never quite takes off

Georges has Georges Georges has Georges

A double bill of rare Bizet works in Paris is not something any of us needs to do more than once

Höchste Lust! Höchste Lust!

Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads the Philadelphia Orchestra, Stuart Skelton, and Nina Stemme in a Tristan und Isolde for the ages

HMS Indomitable HMS Indomitable

For Niel Rishoi, a new CD of Bellini, Donizetti, and Verdi by Eleonora Burrato for Pentatone can’t help but invite unflattering comparisons

Venetian blinding Venetian blinding

West Bay Opera’s Otello punches well above its weight

Summertime lovin’ Summertime lovin’

An impressively well-rounded revival of Francesca Zambello‘s production of Porgy and Bess concludes the Washington National Opera season

Many happy returns Many happy returns

The Met’s mostly successful revivals of The Queen of Spades and La bohème showcase the returns of Sonya Yoncheva and Corinne Winters

Virginia is for lovers Virginia is for lovers

An innovative score and fluid production by Denyce Graves-Montgomery are highlights of Virginia Opera’s production of Loving v. Virginia

Reconcilable differences Reconcilable differences

Cameron Kelsall reports on a transcendent Jenufa from the Cleveland Orchestra

The revolution will be digitized The revolution will be digitized

The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs at the Kennedy Center: not a poorly made opera, but so relentlessly mid.

Three ages of woman Three ages of woman

Asmik Grigorian’s scorching turn in Il trittico in Paris has Nigel Wilkinson wondering, ‘what is it that makes Americans so weepy?’

Satan keeps the beat Satan keeps the beat

With tight, jazzy orchestrations, a queer-coded Mephistopheles, and sassy modern recitative, Heartbeat Opera’s fast 100-minute Faust delivers Gounod in miniature, minus some of the schmaltz.

Sweet birds of youth Sweet birds of youth

Buoyed by a cast of emerging stars, the Metropolitan Opera’s revival of Il Barbiere di Siviglia asserted a key trait of this ubiquitous buffo: it is a young person’s opera.

Sexual orientalization Sexual orientalization

An impressive cast blurs binaries as John Adams‘s ambitious Antony and Cleopatra arrives at the Met

Concerto barocco Concerto barocco

Christopher Corwin on three stylish sopranos delighting audiences live in New York and on recording in a trio of new releases.

Down for the Count Down for the Count

An uneven new cast can’t dim the glow of Richard Eyre‘s incisive Le nozze di Figaro at the Met

Strawberry blonde forever Strawberry blonde forever

The Met Orchestra Chamber Ensemble’s Das Lied von der Erde skirts the sublime at Carnegie Hall

Frick in the sheets Frick in the sheets

The Jupiter Ensemble with Lea Desandre and Anthony Roth Costanzo offers sleek and sexy HIP inaugurates the Frick Collection’s new Stephen A. Schwartzman Auditorium

Now you Caesar, now you don’t Now you Caesar, now you don’t

Before stopping at Carnegie Hall this weekend, The English Concert returned to the Bay Area last week with a fiery performance of Giulio Cesare

Little girls get bigger every day Little girls get bigger every day

Elza van den Heever and Peter Mattei (and the stage elevator) elevate an assertive, if not definitive, new Salome at the Met

Fjord every stream Fjord every stream

Lise Davidsen‘s singular Senta dominates the forces of the Norwegian National Opera in a roiling new recording of Der fliegende Holländer out now on Decca Classics