It’s complicated It’s complicated

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg is a problematic opera—or, rather, it is an opera that has, in the last century or so, become problematic.

on December 10, 2014 at 1:04 PM
Rossini crescendo Rossini crescendo

Sooner or later, Our Own JJ gets around to discussing the Met’s Barbiere di Siviglia and Juilliard’s Turco in Italia in this week’s New York Observer.

on November 26, 2014 at 10:53 AM
Rolling along Rolling along

Show Boat continues to communicate, even in the less than perfect circumstances of this latest revival.

on November 12, 2014 at 10:36 AM
Mourning in America Mourning in America

“Taken by itself, the St. Matthew Passion felt a little mundane. But compared to Zauberflöte, it could have been the Second Coming.”

on October 15, 2014 at 1:00 PM
Wedding bell blues Wedding bell blues

“So it’s twice as disappointing that Monday night’s performance of the Mozart masterpiece turned into a four-hour fizzle.”

on September 24, 2014 at 11:23 AM
Chorus of the exiled protesters Chorus of the exiled protesters

“I applaud the Klinghoffer protesters for voicing their opinions, but that doesn’t stop me from saying that I find those opinions ill-informed, inept and downright dangerous.”

on September 23, 2014 at 10:39 PM
Tiara in the aisles Tiara in the aisles

Our Own JJ (pictured) is off to cover the Met’s opening night.

on September 22, 2014 at 4:14 PM
And all the rest is talk And all the rest is talk

“Labor! Oh, the problem of labor at the Met is gargantuan,” Our Own JJ (not pictured) would have said, had he thought of it.

on August 14, 2014 at 5:03 PM
The secret of nymph The secret of nymph

Mark Morris’ staging of Acis and Galatea at Lincoln Center is everything good about summer condensed into two hours.

on August 13, 2014 at 1:31 PM
Contrariwise Contrariwise

“The dark clouds hovering over Mr. Gelb should not obscure his very real achievements.”

on August 06, 2014 at 10:31 AM
Campus radical Campus radical

“Mr. Burden did his best to wrestle with what looked like a disused Dale Chihuly chandelier, but…”

on July 30, 2014 at 6:56 PM
Clash by day Clash by day

Our Own JJ (not pictured) debates Tim Smith, classical music critic of the Baltimore Sun, on the topic of the Met’s cancellation of the HD telecast of The Death of Klinghoffer.

on June 19, 2014 at 11:12 PM
La regina d’Inghilterra ho veduto cantar La regina d’Inghilterra ho veduto cantar

“At Carnegie Hall last Thursday, a capacity crowd witnessed what might be the final official act of a monarch who has reigned for more than four decades.”

on June 10, 2014 at 10:39 PM
Raven review Raven review

The NY Phil Biennial, a new music festival that is dedicated to new music, kicked off its first season at a drowsy time on the performing arts calendar, the week after Memorial Day.

on June 03, 2014 at 7:36 PM
Faites vos jeux, Messieurs! Faites vos jeux, Messieurs!

The Met may be missing an angle calculated to appeal to the more adventurous attendee: opera as game of chance.

on May 07, 2014 at 1:58 PM
“Senza rancor” “Senza rancor”

The winds of change sweep across the first post-9/11 issue of parterre box, the queer opera zine.

on April 25, 2014 at 8:00 AM
The girl on the moon The girl on the moon

“In Kristine Opolais, who gave her first Met performance in the title role on Friday night, the company has a Butterfly with the soaring voice and penetrating theatrical presence to meet Minghella’s elegant dramaturgy head on.”

on April 08, 2014 at 6:26 PM
“The Met’s Andrea Chénier: less exciting than it looks in this photo” “The Met’s Andrea Chénier: less exciting than it looks in this photo”

The sad fact, though, is that the Met is not doing a great job or, in most cases, even a competent job at this core task.

on March 31, 2014 at 12:41 PM
Liebestraum Liebestraum

“Opera can, in fact, be something beautiful and moving even when all a performance has going for it is some really excellent singing.”

on March 18, 2014 at 2:20 PM
After the thaw After the thaw

Our Own JJ (not pictured) offers his recommendations for 10 opera and classical music events worth hearing this spring.

on March 16, 2014 at 3:03 AM
Less than Zarah Less than Zarah

In a slight detour from the usual all-opera-all-the-time format of parterre box, the queer opera zine, issue #44 centers on Ben Letzler‘s superb appreciation of film and cabaret diva Zarah Leander.

on March 14, 2014 at 7:59 AM
Blood types Blood types

“The finale of Sweeney Todd left the stage of Avery Fisher Hall littered with corpses, but the evening, for all its flaws, felt vibrantly alive.”

on March 11, 2014 at 7:08 PM
Writers’ block Writers’ block

The last place you’d expect to find opera at all, let alone good, exciting opera, is in still-scrappy Bushwick, Brooklyn.

on February 25, 2014 at 5:36 PM
Slavas of New York Slavas of New York

Even when the opera performed is a masterpiece, a truly superb opera performance is exceedingly rare.

on February 10, 2014 at 2:02 PM