Meticulously shaped, beautifully tinted
Stefan Vinke brings to Tristan an indefatigable heldentenor of sturdy, muscular brilliance and a physical intensity that allowed him to fearlessly traverse this complex character’s broad emotional compass.
Francesca Zambello
65 pieces since 2005 — at 11 companies, most often at Washington National Opera.
65
pieces
11
companies
22
years
‘Big D’ energy
Only three years separate the creation of The Most Happy Fella (1956) and The Sound of Music (1959), but there’s a proverbial ocean between these two Golden Age musicals are being performed at prestigious festivals this summer.
Room temperature
It’s maybe not a surprise that Carmen is neither a good vocal nor temperamental fit for Isabel Leonard.
‘Così,’ cheap ‘n cheerful
In 2022, making Così fan tutte intimate is not a radical act. Making it enjoyable, however, is.
The river of dreams
The opera utilizes the idea of “magical realism,” telling a realistic story combined with elements of magic and fantasy.
Open and clothes case
From an exposure standpoint, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the best thing to happen to opera since Beverly Sills.
Fairies at the bottom of our Wagner
Ordinarily we’d be listening to Bayreuth Festival broadcasts this week but instead Trove Thursday steps up with a true Wagner rarity: Die Feen from the Wiener Staatsoper starring as Ada, the fairy in love with a mortal, Gundula Janowitz, who turns 83 on Sunday.
The Wurm turns
Luisa Miller snowballs toward disaster and death.
Nice nice baby
“Tame” seemed to be the appropriate adjective to describe San Francisco Opera’s Carmen.
Lakeside story
In our current political climate with issues of immigration, tribalism, and white nationalists, the 1957 musical West Side Story has a distinctly contemporary feel.
Lakeside ‘Story’
Sunny, lakeside Cooperstown presents a peppy, exuberant, winning production of West Side Story, the musical.
Baby the rain must fall
As Brünnhilde invokes the gods of an empty Valhalla for one last time and strides confidently into a wall of flame, we pause for a moment, unsure of what will follow.
Human, all too human
Siegfried is, in a sense, The Ring’s odd one out.
The hipster demigoddess
If Das Rheingold is an opera about infinitude, the illusory idea that the world is large enough to satisfy all of our desires, passions, and lusts, Die Walküre is an opera about scarcity.
Give ’em Hellman
I mean, how often does one get to hear Bernstein’s gorgeous, rollicking, and varied score nursed by a full orchestra and the artistic resources of an opera company?
Panglossed over
Celebrating Lenny’s 100th this year has made Candide ubiquitous at opera houses worldwide.
Family values
A regular day in 2018 Washington, D.C., or Verdi’s Don Carlo?
A Frabjous Day: The Siege of Calais
The turntable set looks much the same from any angle: gutted concrete tenements and perilous alleys, instantly recognizable as a scene of urban guerrilla mayhem.
‘Dead Man,’ stumbling
The opera is relentlessly obvious, a work that repeatedly turns to tired tropes and canned characters to fill up its nearly three hour run time.
Gold rush
Now we find Mariella Devia, a diva held in near mythic regard due to her vocal longevity, with competing videos of two of her performances that were released, literally, on the same day.
Tag sale
It is a good rule of thumb that if you emerge from a massive grand opera like Aida feeling any less than overwhelmed, you have a right to be somewhat disappointed.
Stone cold killer
This may be Karita Mattila’s greatest role.
A choice, not an ecosystem
Washington National Opera’s first Ring Cycle came to a bittersweet conclusion this past Sunday, closing the door on an extraordinary three weeks in the opera house and a remarkable musical and theatrical achievement for the company.
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).