A lady of coarse and vulgar inclinations
A stark, sweltering performance of Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk shocks the Komische Oper Berlin.
Performance Reviews
Reviews of operatic, vocal, and classical performances at the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, all across America, and around the world.
Nature boy
With Siegfried, the directorial vision of the Paris Opera‘s Ring cycle finally takes root.
A ruckus in Kaunas
Ponchielli goes east with mixed results in I Lituani.
Methinks the lady doth protestant too much
Old pros Gregory Kunde and Pier Luigi Pizzi anchor a new staging of Stiffelio co-produced by three theaters in Emilia-Romagna.
The snows that lie on the mountains of Judaea
Salome sweeps in like a storm at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Faith in their hands shall snap in two
Franz Welser-Möst leads a rigorous, if emotionally staid, performance of Verdi‘s Requiem at Carnegie Hall.
Look to your laurels
A Strauss rarity receives a ravishing concert performance at Seattle Opera.
Irish blessing
Lise Davidsen‘s first Isolde is only one of the highlights of Tristan und Isolde at the Liceu in Barcelona.
You’re as cold as ice
A classic German fairytale gets a modern update at the Staatsoper Berlin.
The revolutionary costume for today
The 20th anniversary revival of Richard Foreman and Michael Gordon‘s What to Wear at the PROTOTYPE Festival showcases a fabulous ensemble.
Stealing fire
Esa-Pekka Salonen and The Los Angeles Philharmonic serve a feast for all five senses.
I wanna be the one to walk in the sun
Two recent Paminas feature in concerts at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall.
Swing and miss
The oddball pairing of Bernie Williams and Jonathan Tetelman doesn’t quite knock it out of the park at Carnegie Hall.
Nun the wiser
Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Hildegard gives the Middle Ages the Bridgerton treatment at the Prototype Festival.
Strangeness in the proportion
A pairing of rarities makes for an inspired evening with the Brooklyn Art Song Society.
Lucky those people who are so anxious to believe
A high-drama Vanessa by the Boston Symphony Orchestra offers something to believe in.
Doublet trouble
A messy new I puritani at the Met is a historic and historical disappointment.
The offal truth
“Call me traditional, but I want to see a silver platter!”
Car Park Casta Diva
Fine music-making meets a clunker of a production in La Monnaie‘s revival of Norma
O stars of wonder, stars of night
A starry (and potentially annual) Christmas gala lights up Carnegie Hall.
Reduce, reuse, recycle
Global warming meets the cool factor in The Seasons.
Life in the Faust lane
Théâtre de l’Athénée Louis-Jouvet mounts a raucous production of Hervé’s Le petit Faust.
Better the devil you know
America’s own Faust gets a compelling operatic treatment, courtesy of DC’s IN Series
Mein Lieder Schwan
Matthew Polenzani charms the pants off of Philadelphia.
I’ll take the fall
The days are getting shorter, but you can keep the prattle going this fall’s Talk of the Town! You will, you can, you must join in the discussion about: Great mezzo soprano performances (October),
Gained in translation (November), Teleport me back to… (December).