Hit me with your best Shoshty Hit me with your best Shoshty

Barrie Kosky’s zany production of The Nose time-steps back onto the Komische Oper Berlin stage.

A shtetl aesthetic A shtetl aesthetic

Austin Opera’s moving production of Fiddler on the Roof grounds itself in lived tradition, to great effect.

Change my mind about performing operetta in English Change my mind about performing operetta in English

I so don’t get why any company in the Anglophone world ever bothers to perform Continental operetta in English.

Prêtre a manger Prêtre a manger

parterre box serves up an amuse-bouche of Natalie Dessay as Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd in Strasbourg!

Return of the Merolini Return of the Merolini

On June 16, San Francisco Opera concluded their excellent Centennial Season with a heartfelt 100th Anniversary Concert, featuring a starry cast, three conductors (including current and former Music Directors) and the SF Opera Orchestra and Chorus.

Sweeney, supersized Sweeney, supersized

Opera house versions of Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd featuring Bryn Terfel / Judith Christin and Thomas Allen / Felicity Palmer.

They trod a path that many have trod They trod a path that many have trod

Sweeney Todd is by any measure a triumphant show, the kind that makes an audience understand why Broadway is American theater’s gold standard

Room temperature Room temperature

It’s maybe not a surprise that Carmen is neither a good vocal nor temperamental fit for Isabel Leonard.

Learning how to laugh Learning how to laugh

When I think of Stephen Sondheim, so many of my memories are not simply about shows of his I loved and learned from—they are experiences that literally shaped my life.

Pie à la mode Pie à la mode

Stephen Sondheim turns 90 on Sunday, prompting Trove Thursday to present his most “operatic” work, Sweeney Todd, in a rare 2002 performance with Christine Baranski and Brian Stokes Mitchell as the murderous duo.

Suddenly spinto Suddenly spinto

When soprano Yihan Duan started to sing her aria, you could feel an almost electric charge that something special was happening.

They love a piano They love a piano

It’s difficult to reconcile what Schlather writes with what we see onstage, which is a jumble not only of pianos, but of periods and concepts.

Razors, edge Razors, edge

Curtis Opera ventured Sweeney Todd.

Bigger than usual Bigger than usual

Philadelphia’s Academy of Vocal Arts, a top-tier advanced training program for singers launching professional careers, always sends off their artists in style.

Each in her style a Delilah reborn Each in her style a Delilah reborn

Forty-five years ago today, Stephen Sondheim’s brilliant, frustrating Follies played its first Broadway preview at the Winter Garden Theatre.

Play well Play well

Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson’s 1949 musicalization of Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country has found a tentative home on the opera stage.

Wahn for a day Wahn for a day

Die Meistersinger is a bold stroke of programming, in a not particularly exciting way.

Leave it to cleaver Leave it to cleaver

If I’d gotten an hour less sleep you’d now find me mixing everything up and writing about Mrs. Lovett making her entrance on a bronze horse like Peter the Great.

Boys to men Boys to men

You have only until Sunday to catch the most heart-breaking moments seen on New York City operatic stages this season.

The bad and the beautiful

Packaged with a peek-a-boo cover exposing only Bryn Terfel’s lovely left eye (the effect of turning the page to reveal the Welsh bass-baritone’s head in its entirety brings to mind this Encyclopedia Dramatica entry) and an oddly hip-hop-flavored gray-on-black treatment of the album’s title, Terfel’s Bad Boys seems designed for those who like their divos…