In Review

Lyric Opera of Chicago 2017-18 Review – Turandot: Opera At Its Grandest In Puccini’s Final Work

Stepping into the opera house is almost always about stepping into the past. If that past is a vision of lavishness and grandeur, seeing the current production of Puccini’s "Turandot" at the Lyric Opera of Chicago is emblematic of what anyone would envision as the quintessential operatic experience. Now that’s not to say that this production, directed by Rob Kearley with sets by Allen Charles Klein, is the greatest "Turandot"…

Carnegie Hall 2017-18 Review: Maria Guleghina Delivers Sonorous Love-letter to New York City

Marking the 30th anniversary of her international debut, soprano Maria Guleghina took to Carnegie Hall to perform some of her favorite arias from past operas and concerts. Accompanied by the stalwart Craig Rutenberg, what followed was an outpouring of passion for the city where she had some of her greatest roles and where she has not performed in since 2015. She walked onstage in a black dress covered in silver…

CD Review: Paterson and Cote’s ‘Three Way’ Not Your Usual Sex Opera

Is it possible to create something risqué yet non-controversial at the same time? Something that tackles sexually-charged topics such as the LGBTQ community, dominatrices, couple swapping and the role of artificial intelligence in relationships? Can all of this be depicted in a way that isn’t preachy or pejorative in these polarizing times? Nobody probably asked themselves these questions but if anyone did, they have an answer in what composer Robert…

Richard Tucker Gala 2017 Review: Stephanie Blythe & Ailyn Perez Shine As Nadine Sierra Shows Promise

Every year the Richard Tucker Foundation awards a promising young American opera singer with the annual Richard Tucker Award. The award comes with a star-studded gala that showcases the victorious artist alongside some of the greatest singers in the world, many of which are also previous winners. This year Nadine Sierra was given the award and headlined the gala at Carnegie Hall. Like every year the gala had some artists…

Pacific Opera Project 2017-18 Review – La Bohème / The Hipsters: An Intelligent Adaptation of the Puccini Classic Set in the 21st Century

On December 8, 2017, Pacific Opera Project presented its version of Giacomo Puccini’s "La bohème," called "The Hipsters." Artistic Director and Company Co-Founder Josh Shaw defines “hipsters” as twenty to thirty-year-old well-educated members of a subculture that values independent thinking, an appreciation of art, creativity, intelligence, and the witty banter of well-educated young adults, many of whom have liberal arts degrees. Shaw’s English titles supplied a great deal of witty…

Manhattan School of Music 2017-18 Review – Cendrillon: The Best Way to Get Into Holiday Spirit

As Manhattanites anxiously awaited the arrival of this Holiday season’s first snow, everyone seemed to buzz with excitement and wonder. This magical contagion was carried into the opening night of Manhattan School of Music’s production of "Cendrillon." Everyone gathered in an intimate Baroque style setting at the Alliance Française’s Florence Gould Hall, and it only felt natural to partake in the childlike element of surprise when presented with a never-before-heard…

Metropolitan Opera 2017-18 Review – Norma: Angela Meade & Jamie Barton Rock The Met With Gargantuan Singing

Back in fall 2013, Sondra Radvanovsky sang her first “Norma” at the Met. A few performances later, Angela Meade and Jamie Barton stole the spotlight when they were paired together for the second cast of the opera. Now it is the 2017-18 season and the pattern has continued, with the inclusion of Marina Rebeka for two performances in between. While Radvanovsky and Joyce DiDonato got the chance to open the…

Tiroler Landestheater Innsbruck 2017 Review – La Gioconda: Elena Mikhailenko Shines In Controversial But Effective Production

Amilcare Ponchielli was unfortunate in being born after his time had passed. Although recognized as a talented composer, he developed a reputation for composing music which always appeared to be a little dated, with the result that his operas have now largely been forgotten and rarely performed, eclipsed by the greater talent of Verdi, and that of his pupils at the Milan Conservatory, Puccini, and Mascagni. His grand opera, “La…

Cal Performances 2017 Review – Simon O’Neill Gives the Intimate & the Epic In Fine Evening

From high up in the mountains; from a knoll, within a cave; from a curlicue within the cave, behind a rock; within two back to back rocks, down under the ground about two feet; behind a shelf of rock, jutting out from inside a dome of the oldest rocks in that cave and ancient concavities; comes this voice, round, round and bound in gold, rich, resonant, and, big, bigger, full,…

Gramercy Opera 2017-18 Review – Dickens’ A Christmas Carol: A Splendid Adaptation of the Classic Holiday Tale

Drawing upon one of the most beloved of Christmas stories, Gramercy Opera has captured a gem of the holiday spirit with its production of “Dickens’ A Christmas Carol – The Opera.” Staged in the historic Montauk Club of Brooklyn, built only 45 years after the original publication of Dickens’ story, audiences will feel as though they have stepped through a door to the past. Both the set and costumes felt…

Nadine Sierra is enjoying one of the most spectacular careers in the opera world. On this day, May 14, 2018, she turns 30, already having managed a historic career by modern standards. So in celebration of the big 3-0 we look at 30 fun facts on Sierra. 1. She is a native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. 2. Sierra trained at the Mannes College of Music and Marilyn Horne’s Music Academy of the West. 3. She was the youngest person to ever receive the Marilyn Horne Foundation Award, 4. She became a Young Artist with the Palm Beach Opera at age…