Glyndebourne Festival Opera 2023 Review: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Photo: © Glyndebourne Productions Ltd. Photo: Tristram Kenton Normally, ‘heritage’ productions make me nervous. The established stagings summon to mind lumbering Zeffirelli-esque spectacles and unwieldy, moth-eaten costumes. Opera houses resting on their artistic laurels, unwilling take artistic risks. The ingrained conservatism in the opera business that could even prove fatal for the art form. But, Peter Hall’s production of Benjamin {…}

Apr 9, 2023

Central City Opera to Hold a Gala

The Central City Opera is set to open its 91st anniversary at the annual Theatre of Dreams Gala. The gala will be held on April 21, 2023 at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and will feature a refreshing cocktail hour, gourmet dinner, and delightful entertainment from the cast this year’s festival production of “Kiss Me, Kate.” In a {…}

Nov 16, 2022

Wexford Festival Opera 2022 Review: La Tempesta

(Photo: Clive Barda) Once upon a time, a magician named Prospero was overthrown and expelled from his kingdom by his brother Antonio. He eventually found refuge, with his daughter Miranda, on a small island that belonged to an evil sorceress called Sicorace, whom he imprisoned in a rock, then turned her monstrous son, Calibrano, into his slave. Using his powerful {…}

Jul 18, 2022

Royal Opera House 2021-22 Review: Otello

Photo: Clive Barda 2022 ROH This first revival of Keith Warner’s production of Verdi’s “Otello” (libretto by longstanding collaborator Arrigo Boito) comes with a frisson of contextual excitement. Warner’s expressionist production opened in 2017 starring Gregory Kunde and Jonas Kaufmann, and tried to give the piece a more existentialist reading that turned away from the problems that skin color presents {…}

Nov 22, 2021

Royal Opera House Review 2021: Macbeth

(Credit: © The Royal Opera / Clive Barda) Covent Garden has a good line in Verdi revivals – Richard Eyre’s “Traviata” has been running over a quarter of a century; David McVicar’s “Rigoletto” lasted nearly two decades; and now Phyllida Lloyd’s “Macbeth” returns too, also nearly 20 years old. It’s a production that has aged gracefully, with no signs of wear. Though chock {…}

Mar 4, 2020

Lisette Oropesa, Anne Sophie Duprels, Shakespeare Headline Wexford Festival Opera 2020

(Credit: Jason Homa) The Wexford Festival has unveiled its 69th Festival, which includes a program inspired by the work of William Shakespeare. It all kicks off with “Ein Wintermärchen,” a work by Karl Goldmark. The performance, which will take place that O’Reilly Theatre, stars Sergy Radchenko, Sophie Gordeladze, Deanna Breiwick, Simon Thorpe, Julian Hubbard, Rory Musgrave, Lancelot Nomura, and Zlata {…}

Jul 25, 2018

Mostly Mozart Festival 2018 Review – Ninagawa Macbeth

Setting the timeless tragedy of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” within Japan’s Azuchi-Momoyama period, ranging from 1568 to 1600 A.D., director Yukio Ninagawa takes drama and staging to new levels in this utterly beautiful production. On adapting the famous work, the late Ninagawa writes: “The tradition of Japanese theater enables us to make a leap in certain ways. Normally, it is difficult to {…}

Apr 21, 2018

Opera Quiz: How Well Does Thou Knowest Operas That Were Upon Shakespeare’s Plays Based?

William Shakespeare, the great Bard, was baptized on April 26, 1564, and many have attributed his birthday to April 23 of that year. He would die on that same day, April 23, 1616, after becoming arguably the most influential writer of his day. To this day he remains in that pole position, though not without a slew of controversies over {…}

Sep 29, 2017

Heartbeat Opera Unveils Theme of 2017 Halloween Extravaganza

Indie opera company Heartbeat Opera is kicking its fourth season off with its Annual Halloween Drag Extravaganza, this year’s titled “All The World’s A Drag: Shakespeare in love… with opera.” This original show, based upon the work of Shakespeare, will feature the immortal bard as he encounters the work of composers such as Verdi, Bernstein, and Purcell. Praised for its bold reinterpretations {…}

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