21st century fox
“A singing crossbreed—a fox with human intelligence—stars in Leos Janacek’s opera, The Cunning Little Vixen. If only the New York Philharmonic’s semistaged performance Wednesday night were as successful a hybrid.” [New York Post]
new york post
Bringing upbeat baby
“If, as rumor has it, conductor Fabio Luisi is poised to succeed the ailing James Levine as music director of the Met, Saturday afternoon’s elegant performance of Ariadne auf Naxos showed he’s the right man for the job.” [New York Post]
Orpheus deconstructing
Morris dancing returns to the Met for a revival of Orfeo, and our own JJ is there to review it. [New York Post]
Put a “Ring” on it
“Director Robert Lepage’s obsession with eye-popping visuals showed little concern for the work’s complex intellectual and moral dimensions.” [New York Post]
Ghost of a chance
“First witches, now ghosts. But while Broadway’s Wicked proved golden for Stephen Schwartz, his Séance on a Wet Afternoon came up lifeless and damp Tuesday night at its City Opera premiere.” [New York Post] (Photo: Carol Rosegg)
Hard gore
“In New York… opera directors don’t matter so much. In Europe, it’s another story: There, the director’s curtain call provokes the wildest excitement of the night.” The long-awaited “Regie” piece by Our Own JJ appears in the New York Post.
The joy of tragedy
“Alban Berg’s Wozzeck, about a bullied soldier’s descent into madness, is one of the grimmer operas around. Yet it was cause for jubilation Wednesday night when Met music director James Levine finally returned to the podium.” [New York Post]
Where the neon signs are pretty
In what La Cieca chooses to regard fondly as a flashback to her gritty early days in Manhattan in the 1980s, a Met honcho has been busted on 14th Street with schnauzer in full view. [New York Post]
Le Comte: ORLY?
“Take a sexy comedy, add Rossini’s scrumptious melodies, then fold in world-class singers and a Tony-winning director. Now pray it doesn’t turn out like the sodden soufflé that is the Met’s new Le Comte Ory.” Our own JJ is in a severe mood in today’s New York Post.
Children of the Zorn
“Esoteric music staged by an operatic outsider paid off for the New York City Opera on Friday night with Monodramas, a program of three single-character operas.” [New York Post]
A water, bird talk
Our own JJ “sits down” (figuratively speaking) with Robert Lepage to “talk” (also figuratively speaking) about his production of The Nightingale and Other Short Fables, opening tomorrow night at BAM. [New York Post]
Altar ego
“At a time of life when most opera singers can barely remember their glory days, 70-year-old Placido Domingo is still giving performances singers half his age could be proud of.” Our Own JJ‘s latest review is a love letter to the Met’s revival of Iphigénie en Tauride. [New York Post]
Silent minority
“A milestone in history, a hyped Met premiere and a gaggle of A-list artists added up to something less than a sensation Wednesday night when the Metropolitan Opera offered its first performance of John Adams’ Nixon in China.” [New York Post]
Desert song
“A blizzard seemed an incongruous prelude to an opera set in sizzling biblical Egypt, but the trudge through snowy SoHo on Wednesday night paid off with a glimpse of the intriguing new Mosheh.” [New York Post]
Simon, pure
“Pre-performance applause often signals gratitude for past glories. In this case, it was only a preview of the stomping and cheering following that night’s performance of Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra — well-deserved acclaim for a masterpiece of conducting.” So says Our Own JJ in the New York Post.
Stolen blind
La Cieca’s turf has been violated, and by Our Own JJ‘s colleagues (sort of) at the New York Post, to boot! [Page Six]
Tick Tock
“Unveiling a new La Traviata Friday night to a starry audience including Natalie Portman and Vanessa Redgrave, the Met triumphed with the most moving and exciting Verdi production in years.” [New York Post] / Photo: Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera
Harmony of contrasts
La Cieca wonders if the horrific accident during last night’s performance of the Spider-Man musical (which promises to re-open Wednesday night with “additional safety protocols“) reminds you of, well, anything familiar?
“Je suis heureux ici”
“The decades-overdue debut of Sir Simon Rattle at the Met Friday night demonstrated brilliantly just what we’ve been missing: His conducting of Pelléas et Mélisande is the musical pinnacle of the season.” [New York Post]
Bodice ripper
“Next year’s centennial of Tennessee Williams‘ birth got off to an early start Wednesday with a revival of Lee Hoiby‘s Summer and Smoke. But while the Manhattan School of Music’s production was solid, the 1971 opera—based on Williams’ 1948 Broadway flop—hasn’t held up well.” [New York Post]
True “West”
Our Own JJ finds the Met’s revival of Fanciulla “…a performance more dutiful than golden.” [New York Post]
Regal eye
“The enigma at the center of the epic was Marina Poplavskaya’s Elizabeth.” [New York Post]
That’s not how to do it
“What do you call a sex comedy that’s neither funny nor sexy? At the Met on Tuesday night, you’d have called it Cosi Fan Tutte.” [New York Post]
Kiss me, skate
“Following up on its brassy season opener, Bernstein’s A Quiet Place, New York City Opera is charming audiences with Intermezzo, a comedy inspired by a real-life episode in the life of the opera’s composer, Richard Strauss.” [New York Post]
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).
Win a Free Ticket to Opening Night at the Met!
Quinn Kelsey and Lise Davidsen star in the Met's new Macbeth. We're giving away one ticket, so screw your courage to the sticking place and enter now!
