Why so seria? Why so seria?

At the Metropolitan Opera on Saturday night, Mozart’s opera never sounded fresher, a superstar cast shining new light on one of the composer’s all-too-seldom-performed scores.

I want magic I want magic

Why, only now, Cendrillon is having its premiere at the Met is a puzzling question.

True Romans True Romans

On Saturday Juilliard 415 welcomed the sterling 10-member Belgian group Vox Luminis for a striking program of “Handel in Rome.”

Girl power Girl power

Washington National Opera’s lukewarm Alcina, unthreateningly misguided in both its musical and theatrical values, made little impact.

Stop the wedding Stop the wedding

Opera Philadelphia ended its season with Le Nozze di Figaro, Friday, and it will play May 3, 5, and 7—a matinee. Figaro is considered by most to be one of the few perfect operas and although it’s perhaps too easily encountered in routine run-throughs, there are usually rewards in seeing it. 

Period piece Period piece

Jean-Pierre Ponnelle’s production of L’Italiana in Algeri for the Met remains steadfastly ignorant of postcolonial theory.

His cup runneth over His cup runneth over

As portrayed by Vittorio Grigolo, Nemorino was a manic self-absorbed, probably bipolar, stalker whoagainst all odds and good sense—gets the poor girl.

Starry starry night Starry starry night

Although the season is less than three weeks old, Metropolitan Opera audiences may hear nothing else this season as beautiful as Peter Mattei’s “Song to the Evening Star.”

She who gets slapped She who gets slapped

All those who have been in a rage since the news broke this week that the Metropolitan Opera has invited Calixto Bieito to stage Verdi’s La Forza del Destino can relax and embrace the Juilliard Opera’s new Le Nozze di Figaro which opened Friday night.

Mourning becomes Iphigenia Mourning becomes Iphigenia

Gluck’s Iphigénie en Aulide (1774), the occasion of his Paris debut, gets far less respect than her sequel, Iphigénie en Tauride.

Revival meeting Revival meeting

For many in New York and around the world, if the name William Christie appears on a concert or opera program, it’s a must-attend.

Ten thousand bedrooms Ten thousand bedrooms

The Metropolitan Opera desperately needed a new production of Le nozze di Figaro.

Water stories Water stories

You can see the logic of it: The Juilliard School wants to show off its opera program, the Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts, which is (on the evidence) brim-full of talent.