Take the long way Rome
Russell Thomas’s opening aria, “Del piu sublime soglio” displayed an intense attention to the text and some surprisingly beautiful piano phrasing that I’ve never heard risked before and it brought wonder and gooseflesh.
Taylor Raven
9 pieces since 2018 — in 9 roles, at 5 companies, most often at LA Opera.
9
pieces
9
roles
5
companies
9
years
By role
Role Annio
Role Charmian
Classic example: ‘Antony’ at SFO
Antony and Cleopatra was an auspicious start to San Francisco Opera’s second century, a performance that seems to improve as I continue to think about it.
Role Diana/Jove as Diana
Pansexual relations
Love makes fools of us all – that seems to be the theme of this summer’s Glimmerglass Festival.
Role Fatima
Scholarly pursuits
“What would you do if the world you knew was suddenly gone and you were thrown into the deepest abyss stripped of all humanity? Would you fight to remember who you were?”
Role Flora
Color my world
San Francisco Opera has unveiled a brand-new production of Giuseppe Verdi’s warhorse classic La traviata, the first “to be built in San Francisco Opera’s scene and costume shops in 35 years.”
Role Mallika
Ring my bell
The monsoon outside was no match for the torrents of gorgeous, dramatic singing and playing that was unleashed inside George Washington University’s Lisner Hall Sunday afternoon when Washington Concert Opera, in a glorious deluge of Léo Delibes, presented Lakmé to round out its return season.
Role Sandman
Stranger with candy
Saturday night I navigated the Music Center concourse, or what’s left of it with it’s seemingly eternal construction to the main plaza, wending my way to the Dorothy Chandler for the opening night of LA Opera’s Hansel and Gretel.
Role Third Lady
Strange magic
We’ve had a mini-fest of director Barrie Kosky’s work this year at LA Opera.
Role Valkyrie
In my end is my beginning
Die Walküre heralds the end of an era for the Los Angeles Philharmonic — and the arrival of a new generation of Wagnerians.