Made cautious by the endless coloratura laments of the woman in red, groveling in a stage-wide sandbox and packing up her gilded rawhide fleece (soprano Claudia Barainsky, in a role created by Marlis Peterson), I was puzzled by my initial exposure to the Medea of Aribert Reimann, a work of 2010. Read more »
The Wiener Staatsoper should be a source of some interesting backstage gossip next September as the company presents on alternating nights Angela Gheorghiu as Tosca and Aleksandra Kurzak as Violetta. (La Cieca doesn’t know if she said ermine or sable coat, but…)
Ne Quittez Pas, director James Darrah’s new site-specific reimagining of Poulenc’s 1958 monodrama La voix humaine, adds a cabaret-style prologue of Poulenc art songs on texts by Guillaume Apollinaire and others, as well as additional poetry by both Apollinaire and Cocteau, expanding the one-act monologue to an evening-length presentation. Starring as La voix humaine’s sole character is Grammy-winning powerhouse soprano Patricia Racette, with the prologue sung by Edward Nelson, praised by Bachtrack for a “ringing baritone” that is “a thrill to listen to.” The production is led by music director and pianist Christopher Allen, winner of the 2017 Sir George Solti Conducting Award. Read more »
Cher Public