Vigorous to rigorous Vigorous to rigorous

Dmitry Matvienko led a performance of Mussorgsky and Shostakovich at La Monnaie with meticulous rectitude.

School gyrls School gyrls

What Opera Lafayette’s Dido and Aeneas lost in gravitas it gained in charm and specificity.

Undoing of woman Undoing of woman

Anthony Hüseyin‘s eclectic recital in Berlin explores femicide in opera through a queer, nonbinary lens.

Up the creek and over the hill Up the creek and over the hill

Matthias Goerne‘s Die schöne Müllerin at Carnegie Hall offers a hoary and excessive collection of mannerisms and vocal tics that served the artist more than the music itself.

Avec la victoire, l’instant du bonheur Avec la victoire, l’instant du bonheur

Buoyed by a strong cast, The Metropolitan Opera continues its autumn bel canto streak with a winning revival of Donizetti’s La fille du regiment.

The scorned mother of us all The scorned mother of us all

Seeing Sondra Radvanovsky as Medea at Lyric Opera of Chicago sprawled across the floor, soaked in her children’s blood, is proof that we’re witnessing an utterly haunting singer-actor.

Dona nobis pacem Dona nobis pacem

A Missa Solemnis to celebrate 125 years of Boston’s Symphony Hall was sophisticated and subdued.

Hold! Enough! Hold! Enough!

The timing for Boston Lyric Opera’s production of Macbeth this weekend was perfect for Halloween, though the show itself at the Emerson Colonial Theatre was decidedly less spooky.

Ain’t no mountain high enough Ain’t no mountain high enough

A new production of La sonnambula at the Metropolitan Opera is musically charming if dramatically confounding.

Only vaulting ambition Only vaulting ambition

Macbeth at the Festival Verdi in Parma aims big — on a small scale

Moor is more Moor is more

A pair of Otellos – in Madrid and Parma – is a study in contrasts.

It all began tonight It all began tonight

West Side Story opened LA Opera’s 40th anniversary season with fury and flair

Storybored Storybored

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay was, somehow, a fun night at the opera—just not one that felt specifically operatic.

Reunited and it feels so good Reunited and it feels so good

When Angela Meade and Michael Fabiano first sang Lucia together as students at AVA few would have predicted that they would go on to sing Turandot 16 years later.

Now, voyager Now, voyager

The miracle workers at Boston Modern Orchestra Project and Odyssey Opera have published another premiere recording of a work that I’ve long heard of but never heard: Dominick Argento’s The Voyage of Edgar Allan Poe.

Museum quality Museum quality

Opera Philadelphia’s Il viaggio a Reims in a nutshell: Hyperactive, confusing, and distracting from (and sometimes for) the singers? Yes. Imaginative, wildly entertaining, and musically rewarding? Absolutely.

The rain in Spain The rain in Spain

Wolf Trap Opera concluded its 2025 summer season last month with a production of Carmen that was vocally strong, though not entirely dramatically satisfying, amid challenging weather.

One-woman Brutus and Cassius One-woman Brutus and Cassius

Anna Pirozzi and Luca Salsi reunite in blazing form in Tosca at the Teatro San Carlo

Act of contrition Act of contrition

The 25th anniversary revival of Dead Man Walking at San Francisco Opera is most moving in its quietest moments

Self-made woman Self-made woman

In the pursuit of clowning, Anthony Roth Costanzo’s Galas may have lost sight of “the seriousness of the theme.”

Carthago DiDonato est Carthago DiDonato est

For our first review in a new series, we turn to the new recording of Dido and Aeneas featuring Joyce DiDonato, Michael Spyres and Maxim Emelyanychev leading Il Pomo d’Oro.

All about her father All about her father

Adela Zaharia and Amartuvshin Enkhbat shine brightly in San Francisco Opera’s opening night Rigoletto.

A smoking <em>Traviata</em> A smoking <em>Traviata</em>

Restrictions encourage creative staging, for which the Berkshire Opera Festival is renowned.

Marriage is what brings us together today Marriage is what brings us together today

Le nozze di Figaro in Santa Fe is a light and kindly revival while The Turn of the Screw is crisp and atmospheric