(Photo: Franck Ferville) Unfortunately, I could not attend the opening night of Paris Opera’s premiere of “Beatrice di Tenda.” I even tried to emulate the experience of an opening night: I avoided, as much as I could, reading the reviews. But, before I could stop them, a few friends had stressed how negative most reviews were. After watching the opera, {…}
(Photo: Semperoper/Ludwig Olah) The almost 800-year-old conflict on the Iberian Peninsular between the Spanish and the Moorish invaders gave rise to many stories of heroism, love and bloodshed. While some were based on fact, others were simply romantic embellishments or complete fabrications. One such tale of questionable authenticity concerns Rahel, the Jewish mistress of the King of Castile, Alfonso VIII. {…}
(Photo credit: Hilary Scott) Last weekend, Symphony Hall was, on a generous account, less than two-thirds full. If you asked anyone why they were there, nine out of ten people would have said: “to listen to Bártok’s Castle.” The few others would be admirers of Alisa Weilerstein, who played the concert’s first half: Haydn’s c-major cello concerto. Chiaroscuro programing. Bartók’s {…}
(Photo credit: Keith Saunders) Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” has a bit of everything – part-serious opera, part-singspiel, part-burlesque, part-ritual. Music commentators often seem much exercised with how to categorize it. That thought arose while watching Kate Gaul’s new production of “The Magic Flute” on February 1. This was the third opera in Opera Australia’s 2024 summer season at Sydney Opera {…}
(Photo: Camilla Greenwell/Royal Opera House) Trailing draggily behind Puccini’s rue and jubilance, this season’s Royal Opera House revival of the tearful “La bohème” appears afraid of the work’s earnestness. Decked out in semi-mockeries of 1830s Paris, Richard Jones’ 2017 production favors episodes of bawdiness at the expense of the Bohemian; endangering its players’ vocal liberties. Perhaps as the result of {…}
(Photo Credit: Dagens Nyhter/Mattias Ahlm) On February 4, I had the pleasure of seeing Igor Stravinsky’s, “The Rake’s Progress,” for the first time. Having only read about the opera, I hadn’t come to realize how satirical Stravinsky could really be. Shostakovich and Prokofiev have been my references for the identity of Russian musical satire. Leading the Swedish Chamber Orchestra was {…}
(Photo: Catherine Hancock) Brooklyn Art Song Society (BASS) presented “Circles V: The Minnesota Connection” on Friday, February 2nd 2024 at First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn. The program focused on works by Michael Djupstrom, Libby Larsen, Reinaldo Moya, and Dominick Argento. The pre-lecture before the program began featured Larsen and Moya discussing their works and the Minnesota connection. Larsen’s comments about her work, “The {…}
Verdi’s “I Vespri Siciliani” was last on the stage in Naples back in 2011, featuring the original French version created by the composer for the Opera de Paris in 1855. This year, however, Teatro San Carlo is showcasing the Italian rendition, which is more commonly performed in Italy, without the ballet sequences. The narrative, crafted by Eugene Scribe’s libretto, revolves {…}
(Photo: Michael Brosilow) Fresh from a Metropolitan Opera premiere last spring (and its subsequent Grammy Award victory), Terence Blanchard’s first opera in jazz, “Champion,” enjoyed its Lyric Opera of Chicago premiere in James Robinson’s vivid and effective staging, a co-production on January 27th, 2024. A dazzling cast led by Justin Austin as Emile Griffith made a powerful case for repeated {…}