Così Island
The Metropolitan Opera gets its freak on — or about as close as it can — in a revival of its Coney Island-set production of Così fan tutte.
mozart
Bang to whimper
Opera San José opened its season with a new production of Don Giovanni that embraced the opera’s challenges with youthful abandon, even as it was sometimes felled by them.
In mind and not in morals
The Royal Opera House‘s Don Giovanni comes without an instruction manual — but features a fine lothario in Gordon Bintner.
The awkward stage
Opera Philadelphia’s production of Mitridate, re di Ponto proves more puerile than perhaps its 14 year-old composer intended.
Garden leave
Brigitte Fassbaender’s acid-laced production of La finta giardiniera leans into the absurdities of Mozart’s early dramma giocoso.
Suffering a sea-change
Calixto Bieito‘s production of Idomeneo at La Monnaie is anchored by a committed cast, but gets swept up in pseudo-psychoanalytic imagery — and foot fetishism.
Così così
Despite some fine performances, Così fan tutte at the Livermore Valley Opera doesn’t quite click into place.
For my next trick
The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra under conductor Stéphane Denève plays up the schtick in a concert performance of The Magic Flute – and obscures Mozart’s magic in the process.
Shade in the shadow
Ombra Compagna, out today on Pentatone, spotlights Lisette Oropesa in 10 of Mozart’s most challenging concert arias accompanied by Il Pomo d’Oro conducted by Antonello Manacorda.
A grandeur night for singing
“Die Zauberflöte is an opera!” “No, it’s the first musical comedy!”
Fully equipped with fire and music
“The Greek drama affords us one character which, had Shakespeare studied it in the three great tragedians of that people, and then, preserving Greek manners as ably as he did Roman, written it from his own heart and mind, might have been worthy to succeed the greatest achievement of the stage.”
I’ll take the fall
The days are getting shorter, but you can keep the prattle going this fall’s Talk of the Town! You will, you can, you must join in the discussion about: Great mezzo soprano performances (October),
Gained in translation (November), Teleport me back to… (December).