You can’t hide your lion eyes You can’t hide your lion eyes

The UK’s first-ever production of Poliuto, now available from Opus Arte on DVD, set the lions of Rome among the lambs of Glyndebourne.

on October 20, 2016 at 10:37 AM
Better call Saul Better call Saul

Director Barrie Kosky’s Glyndebourne 2015 production of Handel’s 1739 oratorio Saul (released on Opus Arte DVD) shows imagination as well as a strong cast and design team.

on October 12, 2016 at 9:00 AM
Park and bark Park and bark

Like Orest, I return to this house.

on October 04, 2016 at 9:00 AM
The upper depths The upper depths

The Teatro di San Carlo in Naples is a pearl itself and this presentation proffers some of the best that company has to offer.

on September 25, 2016 at 9:00 AM
I saw three ships I saw three ships

“Never in my life having enjoyed the true happiness of love I shall erect a memorial to this loveliest of all dreams…”

on September 20, 2016 at 9:00 AM
Bella come un tramonto Bella come un tramonto

With the performance of Dessì we move onto a different plane than the other singers.

on September 09, 2016 at 2:01 PM
Mourning Wood Mourning Wood

Sometimes when you find the club that will have you as a member, you do not easily give up your spot.

on July 04, 2016 at 1:29 PM
No contest No contest

Richard Wagner viewed dance as an essential element of art, though he used it sparingly in his operas.

on June 08, 2016 at 9:00 AM
Cross purposes Cross purposes

“Has anyone ever seen a truly great production of this opera?”

on May 27, 2016 at 12:11 PM
Shooting in low light Shooting in low light

What we really need, some seem to believe, is fuller representation of the 19th century.

on May 15, 2016 at 11:38 AM
Site unseen Site unseen

Giuseppe Verdi was so unhappy with the first production of his Giovanna d’Arco at La Scala in 1845 that he swore an oath to himself that he would never entrust that theatre with a prima again.

on April 25, 2016 at 12:00 PM
Sybil, shepherd Sybil, shepherd

The original conductor of Nielsen’s opera summed the piece up well I think…

on April 05, 2016 at 9:00 AM
Hello from the other side Hello from the other side

A woman reads from the Bible. There is a dance scene in a tavern. The discovery of blood gives away the protagonist.

on January 28, 2016 at 10:00 AM
After dark After dark

The Canadian Robert Carsen would appear to love the theater to the point of fixation.

on January 20, 2016 at 1:54 PM
The rules of attraction The rules of attraction

Is Manon Lescaut a cold, clinical tale of the splendors and pitfalls of transactional sex, or is it a romantic Italian opera at its most lush and melodic?

on January 11, 2016 at 10:00 AM
And never brought to mind And never brought to mind

It would be generous to say that history comes alive on the operatic stage.

on December 30, 2015 at 10:00 AM
A Pole in the head A Pole in the head

Enthusiasm is contagious–you have to cover up carefully lest it make you sick.

on December 21, 2015 at 10:25 AM
Ardori inospiti Ardori inospiti

The most recent Egyptian voluptuary of 2006 by our friend Franco has now been replaced by the most singularly spartan production of Verdi’s masterpiece I think I’ve ever seen.

on December 21, 2015 at 9:00 AM
Gli enigmi sono due Gli enigmi sono due

Giacomo Puccini’s final opus interruptus is and shall always remain my favorite opera. The reasons for this preference are so varied and numerous that if they were printed and bound the volume would most assuredly require its own stand.  

on December 11, 2015 at 8:00 AM
La farsa del destino La farsa del destino

There might be nothing in the world as joyous as a Rossini overture.

on November 22, 2015 at 9:00 AM
Battle of the network tsars Battle of the network tsars

For all their orchestral and vocal attractions, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s 15 operas are rarities in the West.

on October 05, 2015 at 11:00 AM
Money on the dresser Money on the dresser

“Hailed ‘the Meryl Streep of opera’…” begins one sentence of a promotional piece for a Diana Damrau recording of another opera, reproduced on the soprano’s website.

on September 20, 2015 at 12:48 PM
Slash by night Slash by night

Enthusiasts of Janácek’s opera will want to pick up this video immediately.

on September 15, 2015 at 10:00 AM
Poor wan Rusalka Poor wan Rusalka

The winter 2014 final run of the Met’s first/only Rusalka production (a new one is scheduled in a few seasons) seemed both a nod to the theater’s past and a hint of its future.

on September 13, 2015 at 10:00 AM