The trolley problem
At Boston Lyric Opera, a hardworking cast can’t make magic of André Previn’s disenchanting adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire.
Review
Un bel DAR
Washington National Opera kicked off its first season as a fully independent company with a thoughtful production of Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly.
Strauss test
San Francisco Opera music director Eun Sun Kim tantalizes with her readings of Strauss.
In for the kill
Saioa Hernández makes a no-hold-barred house debut in The Metropolitan Opera’s prematurely dusty Tosca.
The mirror stage
Now in its penultimate installation, Tobias Kratzer’s Munich Ring is reaching full maturity—without compromising its humor.
Bitches and broods
Sonya Yoncheva tackles one of opera’s mothers from hell in the Metropolitan Opera’s revival of Medea.
A first opera from a first people
In Juneau, the world premiere of the Tlingit-language opera Ḵutulagaaw: The Tlingit-Russian Battles raises new questions about cultural ownership while singing a song all its own.
Mantua man
San Diego Opera’s Rigoletto, starring a persuasive Michael Chioldi, veers traditional—without the mothballs in tow.
Philly fluff
Two Philadelphia institutions present delectable performances of sex and filth (of the best kind).
The virtue of being Verdi
At the Festival Verdi, the “mondi lontani” of Nabucco and Aida lead back to universal, Verdian virtues.
Lipsync for your life
Heartbeat Opera’s Queeney Todd draws together New York’s queer theater multiverse in a stunning drag production that breathes new life into the opera and leaves the audience in stitches.
Near, far, wherever you are
Parma’s annual Festival Verdi traversed “distant worlds” of crusades, conquests, and colonial struggles, stopping first in Peru for the seldom-heard Alzira.
Voices of the past
Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels’s Omar fascinates and frustrates in equal measure in Chicago.
Would you say I have a plethora of piñatas?
Domingo Hindoyan makes an auspicious debut as LA Opera’s Music Director against a distractingly busy production of Carmen.
A little slice of death
Lincoln in the Bardo fills its inaugural Metropolitan Opera run with musical delights and vibes—but how far can those go?
The pleasure principle
Lisette Oropesa casts a spell as the titular sorceress in the Royal Ballet and Opera’s fizzy revival of Alcina.
Smooth operators
A husband-wife duo add star power to San Francisco Opera‘s stylish revival of Manon.
We’re not in Kansas anymore
Our critics assess Kansas’s own Ben Bliss in a (nearly) all-American program performed at the Park Avenue Armory and Vocal Arts DC.
By Richard Lynn and Andrew Lokay
18 comments
JK, just OK
The world’s leading tenor garners a tepid response at Carnegie Hall‘s season opener featuring the Berliner Philharmoniker.
A kink in the plan
In its third revival, Lyric Opera of Chicago‘s production of Don Giovanni nails its predatory Don — but falls short dramatically with its donne.
Say it ain’t so, Gio
Opera Baltimore strikes out with an uninspired production of Don Giovanni.
In my end is my beginning
In San Francisco, an autumnal Renée Fleming proves she can still work her magic with Strauss’s Four Last Songs.
Accept this offering
Austin Opera inaugurates its new permanent home with Ofrenda, an intimate tribute to the city’s Latine community.
E avanti a lei tremava tutta Stoccarda
Two up-and-coming sopranos — Chelsea Lehnea and Marigona Qerkezi — make a splash across two nights in Stuttgart.
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).