Mahler if ya hear me
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, leading the Met Orchestra, and Joyce DiDonato continue their exploration of Mahler at Carnegie Hall.
Review
Fifty percent illusion
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis does its best to give magic in its summer productions of Roméo et Juliette and A Streetcar Named Desired.
Sister, sister, oh so fair
Conductor Eun Sun Kim and soprano Elza van der Heever play to their strengths in a piercing revival of Elektra at San Francisco Opera.
Nun the wiser
Matthew Travisano has such doubts about Douglas Cuomo‘s opera recently seen at Opera Parallèle.
Bembo eruption
Supported by an ingenious production and strong performances, Antonia Bembo’s Ercole Amante makes a successful Paris Opera debut.
Lise with an “S”
Emma Hoffman reports on the glimmers of ecstatic artistry in Lise Davidsen‘s all-Schubert recital at Carnegie Hall with James Baillieu.
Three on a match
Elsa Dreisig, Jonas Kaufmann, and Malin Byström lead recent album releases.
The Grand Salzburg Hotel
A.J. Goldmann on the Salzburg Festival’s revolving doors, both in its administration and in its delectable production of Il viaggio a Reims.
His infinite variety
Bass-baritone Le Bu’s recital with Vocal Arts DC highlighted his linguistic and timbral versatility.
Were you silent or were you silenced
A new production of Die schweigsame Frau at the Berlin Staatsoper has precious little to say.
A springtime baroque bouquet
Christopher Corwin picks the flowers of a baroque May in New York City with reviews of concerts starring Lauren Snouffer, Key’mon Murrah, and the Oratorio Society of New York.
On the party platform
Don’t expect any sweeping statements from Franz Welser-Möst ‘s polished, if dramatically inert, Fidelio.
In my end is my beginning
Die Walküre heralds the end of an era for the Los Angeles Philharmonic — and the arrival of a new generation of Wagnerians.
Gorgon wild
Iain Bell and Lydia Steier‘s Medusa stuns in Brussels.
Garden leave
Brigitte Fassbaender’s acid-laced production of La finta giardiniera leans into the absurdities of Mozart’s early dramma giocoso.
I could escape this feeling with my China girl
Tired of Turandot? “The Dancing Goddess” at the China Institute Gallery gives us a glimpse at a real Peking Opera queen.
The anxiety of influencer
Constance: A Confession, presented in Brooklyn by Experiments in Opera, satirizes our digital age with style.
Difficult people
Anna Pirozzi makes a welcome return to the Metropolitan Opera, but Turandot remains as thorny as ever.
Dream a little dream of me
Gabriela Lena Frank’s El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego enchants and surprises despite the Disnified treatment of its subject matter.
The Pennsylvania Dutchman
Verdi’s Stiffelio goes Amish in Vienna, featuring a stellar Luciano Ganci in the title role.
Less is more
Vanessa is spare and compelling in Heartbeat Opera’s production.
Holding out for a hero
Clémence de Grandval’s Mazeppa gets the superhero treatment in Dortmund.
Joie de vivre
Erin Morley, Lawrence Brownlee, and Malcolm Martineau put on a jolly good show at the 92nd Street Y.
No need to grin and bear it
An exciting cast digs their claws into a heady production of La Calisto at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées.
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).