Three faces of Violetta
Christopher Corwin surveys the three Traviata casts — led by Lisette Oropesa, Rosa Feola, and Ermonela Jaho — at the Met this spring.
Review
Es gibt ein Reich (jenseits von Manhattan)
The Bronx Opera‘s Ariadnes auf Naxos is well worth the subway ride. Plus, two strong premieres at the Brooklyn Art Song Society.
Which side story?
Vivacious performances outweigh a host of odd directorial choices in the Washington National Opera‘s
West Side Story
Clipped wings
Madama Butterfly at Opera Colorado plays it safe — and never fully takes flight.
Un paio in tre
Christopher Corwin and Andrew Lokay provide dual perspectives on the National Symphony Orchestra‘s performances of Puccini’s triple-bill.
By Christopher Corwin and Andrew Lokay
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Don’t tread on Marie
Boston Lyric Opera’s Revolutionary War-set Daughter of the Regiment prioritizes accessibility without losing its charm.
As a hero going to conquest
A joint Beethoven–Adams program conducted by Dima Slobodeniouk suggests a way forward for the embattled Boston Symphony Orchestra.
‘Tis almost fairy time
Curtis Opera and a charming cast of young singers cast a spell with their beguiling production of Britten‘s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
They don’t stoop to conquer
The countertenors conquer the day in Handel‘s Giulio Cesare in Egitto at the Deutsche Oper Berlin.
The poetry is in the pity
Klaus Mäkelä unexpectedly joins the foray for The Cleveland Orchestra‘s performances of Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem.
Bloodless revolution
Bluebeard’s Castle and Erwartung at Canadian Opera Company deliver on fine performances even if Robert Lepage‘s production skimps on horror.
La voix surhumaine
Barbara Hannigan mesmerizes as both a brilliant vocalist and a proficient opera conductor in a double bill of Strauss and La voix humaine with the New York Philharmonic.
The night is dark and full of terrors
Opera Baltimore concludes its season with a piercing semi-staged production of Pelléas et Mélisande.
Hustle your bustle
Opera San José‘s La Traviata has all the buzz and energy of a world premiere.
Big man in town
A strong revival of Falstaff at the Los Angeles Opera proves a fitting farewell vehicle for Music Director James Conlon.
Now sleeps the crimson petal
Gregory Spears’s Sleepers Awake mystifies and delights at Opera Philadelphia.
Come and Gandhi
Led by a mesmerizing Anthony Roth Costanzo, Satyagraha at the Paris Opera dispenses with historical particularities for something for more elusive.
Kuda, woulda, shoulda
A strong revival of Eugene Onegin at the Metropolitan Opera and a recital by Benjamin Bernheim offered the chance to hear “Kuda, kuda” twice in two days.
Trouble in paradise
The New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players‘s vivacious music making compensates for uninspired storytelling in their staging of Utopia, Limited.
Northern lights
SoCal goes Scandi in two recent concerts, with one featuring an appearance by Lise Davidsen.
Bach to Bach
An invigorating double bill at the San Francisco Symphony challenges how Bach “should” be performed.
That time of evening
Golda Schultz soldiers through illness at the New York Philharmonic.
Heaven, here within my heart
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra explores love and death in an intense, intelligent program featuring soprano Corinne Winters.
Rose to the occasion
The embattled Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra bring Adams and Dvorák to Carnegie Hall.
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).