I’m getting married in the morning
Washington National Opera presented a well-sung and humorous Marriage of Figaro, buoyed by clever direction and a strong cast, particularly Rosa Feola’s Countess and Joélle Harvey’s Susanna.
Wolf Trap
11 pieces since 2015.
11
pieces
12
years
A favorite Donizetti performance from Angela Meade
For me, Donizetti’s operas are all about the mad scenes.
By Angela Meade
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Shoot your shot
Director R.B. Schlather deftly walks a porous boundary, casting this primordial paroxysm of Germanness as a dialogue between its naïve and moralistic narrative with its outsized legacy.
Room temperature
It’s maybe not a surprise that Carmen is neither a good vocal nor temperamental fit for Isabel Leonard.
Reorientation
Concerts at Wolf Trap, mixed bags in more ways than one, provided fleeting glimpses of the old normal as moments of frisson mingled with more familiar monotony.
Sisters are doing it for themselves
Pauline Viardot‘s Cendrillon hews closer to the Perrault original than either Rossini or Massenet’s more familiar retellings and is dainty in conception as a salon opera for her students.
Love letters
March 2, 2020 – June 18, 2021: Those 15 months were the longest I’ve gone without attending a live opera performance since high school.
Sweet prince
South African Jacques Imbrailo’s high-lying baritone did much to highlight the lyrical possibilities of the title role of Hamlet, originally conceived for a tenor.
More than words
This week’s star-spangled “Trove Thursday” offers the second crazy-quilt installment of divas in the wrong language.
Higher and higher
The good news is that the first concert was devoted to the exceptional artistry of Lawrence Brownlee.
Thank you for smoking
Along with Don Giovanni, Carmen is an odd bird on the list of the most beloved and frequently performed works.