With the coming of spring, both sides of my professional life—as a critic and a college administrator/teacher—get busier. The former sees an uptick with last shows of the season; the latter means preparation for graduation. In both cases, it’s a time of endings and beginnings; also, as they say in Fiddler on the Roof, laden with happiness and tears. Read more »
Piano, pianissimo, pianississimo. In music, usually this means soft, softer, and even softer. This time, though, I mean it literally: the musical instrument—pianos, more pianos, even more pianos. Uprights of various vintages are moved around strategically in arresting configurations. This forest of pianos is the only furniture on the stage, aside from a bench or two. Read more »
It may have taken 28 years to see Robert Carsen’s production of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the U. S., but it was worth waiting for. Kudos to Opera Philadelphia for making it happen—and for delivering a sensational version, both musically and theatrically. Read more »
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If only Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, a setting of Walter Scott’s gloomy novel in which the heroine is traded like a piece of merchandise in a battle of brutal family politics, felt like an historical curiosity. Alas, we see daily headlines that confirm its relevance. Read more »
It would be hard to imagine a more apt and poignant metaphor for the ambitious O18 Festival than the world premiere of Lembit Beecher and Hannah Moscovitch’s Sky on Swings.
How do you like your Carmen? Mezzo or soprano? Flirtatious? Confrontational? Smolderingly sexy?
Opera Philadelphia ended its season with Le Nozze di Figaro, Friday, and it will play May 3, 5, and 7—a matinee. Figaro is considered by most to be one of the few perfect operas and although it’s perhaps too easily encountered in routine run-throughs, there are usually rewards in seeing it.
Opera Philadelphia announced today that Lawrence Brownlee has joined the company as an Artistic Advisor.
Cher Public