Opera Theatre of St. Louis 2018 Review – Orfeo and Euridice: Johnson Cano Stellar in Probing Gluck’s Mythical Vision of Love

It has been a particularly heavy season at Opera Theatre of St. Louis, with an absolutely splendid run of Marc Blitzstein’s “Regina” and the emotionally-charged world premiere of Huang Ruo’s “An American Soldier.” It was thus welcome that the final production to debut this season, Gluck’s “Orfeo and Euridice,” provided an uplifting ending. This production by director Ron Daniels, though {…}

Opera Theatre of St. Louis 2018 Review – Regina: Scheming Susan Graham Stars in Masterful Production of Blitzstein’s Drama

It is easy to see why Marc Blitzstein’s “Regina” is rarely performed.  It’s a demanding work that tackles issues of greed, race relations and other seedy elements of humanity head-on while fusing many musical styles that make it hard to characterize. Because there are so many elements to this opera that includes 10 major characters, it is difficult to mount {…}