Less is more Less is more

Vanessa is spare and compelling in Heartbeat Opera’s production.

More than a material girl More than a material girl

The vivacious MANON! at Heartbeat Opera makes a strong case for the return of opera in translation.

Lucky those people who are so anxious to believe Lucky those people who are so anxious to believe

A high-drama Vanessa by the Boston Symphony Orchestra offers something to believe in.

Shadows of a doubt Shadows of a doubt

R.B. Schlather‘s shadowy production with Heartbeat Opera at the Williamstown Theatre Festival proves that Vanessa might be coming into its own at last

Faust or famine Faust or famine

In a satanic panic, this week Chris’s Cache presents trio of performances of Mefistofele

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.

Kiss me beneath the milky twilight Kiss me beneath the milky twilight

Only disordered and volcanic intellects need apply for this beautifully deranged production of Salome from Heartbeat Opera

Witchery and bitchery Witchery and bitchery

Double double, toil and trouble, y’all, and happy spooky season from Slaylem. (It’s like Salem, but fun.)

La folle journée d’Antoine La folle journée d’Antoine

But pressing questions remains: Why? Who is this Figaro for?

Halle if ya hear me Halle if ya hear me

Bergamo hosts an annual Donizetti festival, Salzburg presents a Mozart-woche every January, and of course there is Bayreuth for Wagner. But Handel gets two festivals every spring, and this year I was finally able to attend one of them.

Carmen, domesticated Carmen, domesticated

On May 2, Rebecca Herman‘s conceptualizing of Carmen was a significant departure from the traditional depiction of a marginalized “other,” maintaining a traditional staging in Seville.

At liberty to divulge At liberty to divulge

If it didn’t all work, it wouldn’t work at all.

The newest normal The newest normal

A nonstop flow of COVID related announcements from New York City performing arts organizations has swept the city the past weeks.

A Messy Little Christmas A Messy Little Christmas

Part vaudeville, part opera concert and part drag ball, Heartbeat Opera’s pageant was like a cup of eggnog spiked with a dash of LSD.

Round Table discussion Round Table discussion

Like many composers of his generation, Ernest Chausson was enthralled by Wagner and he too turned to legend for his only opera, one that would consume him for final decade of his brief life.

Nooks and crannies Nooks and crannies

Nathan Hull was an operatic Quixote who did not go it alone, but inspired bands of optimists, giving proper employment to the many worthy New Yorkers mad enough to study voice and pleasure rare elsewhere to those of us thrilled to take it in.

‘Lady’ Willpower ‘Lady’ Willpower

Lady M, an Online Fantasia on Verdi’s Macbeth, Heartbeat Opera’s creative and thought-provoking foray into the Zoom opera scene, left me feeling alternately pensive, hopeful and somewhat uneasy, in a good way.

Kebabs in the Persian Room Kebabs in the Persian Room

Ester, Liberatrice del Popolo Ebreo was presented in concert on Thursday night by Salon/Sanctuary Concerts in the Brotherhood Synagogue on Gramercy Park, in proper time for Purim.

Calling the shots Calling the shots

Heartbeat Opera has set Der Freischütz in a contemporary era, in a rural locale where gun culture reigns supreme and bullying is natural.

Songs of innocence Songs of innocence

Blind Injustice is a masterpiece, brilliant theater.

Can’t get you out of my head Can’t get you out of my head

Today the good guy finally gets his chance with San Giovanni Battista by Alessandro Stradella featuring Christophe Dumaux as John the Baptist.

Too much, too soon Too much, too soon

Heartbeat is, after all, a company that loves to tinker.

Fixing the fan Fixing the fan

Cio-Cio and Carmen: what do you do with two tragic heroines who typify not just the sexist clichés, but also the soupy exotic fixations, of the Old-World West?

Community service Community service

Regina Opera almost completely fulfilled its mission Saturday afternoon with their production of Manon Lescaut.