The Staatsoper Berlin’s “King Arthur,” in its current production by Sven-Eric Bechtolf and Julian Crouch, began with a deceptively childlike staging. Thirteen empty chairs lined the edge of the stage, their backs against a scrim with the pale blue and white pattern of wallpaper. As René Jacobs led the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin through the overture, actors entered from {…}
Philip Glass has a solid trajectory at the Metropolitan Opera. Though few of his operas have had major representation at the hallowed house, their scant performances have tended to be major successes, often flanked by fantastically conceived productions that manage to get the utmost of his meditative masterworks. “Satyagraha” remains one of the great achievements in the Peter Gelb era, {…}
Irish composer Charles Villiers Stanford (1852 – 1924) is a largely forgotten name in the opera world, being better remembered for his church and orchestral music. Occasionally, productions of his operas do crop up, but they tend to be performed by small-scale companies operating on the fringes. Recordings of excerpts from his operas do exist, and a live recording of {…}
Star Russian soprano Hibla Gerzmava performed a recital program featuring art song compositions by Glinka, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Prokofiev sprinkled with a dramatic dash of Donizetti and Verdi on Nov. 1, 2019 at Carnegie Hall. Her appearance was not without controversy. To get to the main entrance, recital-goers needed to push past Pro-Ukrainian activists lining the sidewalk and holding placards in {…}
(Photo: Paula Malone) Rossini’s one act farsa, “L’inganno felice,” premiered in 1812 at Venice’s Teatro San Moise and was an instant success for the young, 19-year-old composer. However, along with most of his other operas, it faded from view following his death in 1868. Even the renewed interest in Rossini’s work following the Second World War has done little to {…}
(Photo: Paula Malone) “Cinderella” is a popular subject for operas, and has attracted its fair share of composers over the years. However, one of the lesser known compositions must be by the French composer, Pauline Viardot, who today, is largely remembered as a famous mezzo-soprano for whom Gounod and Meyerbeer created important roles. However, her influence went much further, for {…}
(Photo: Clive Barda) Massenet’s “Don Quichotte” may not be an opera you would usually associate with Wexford. Judged a success at its premier in Monte Carlo in 1910, in which Chaliapin featured in the title role, it has since struggled to establish itself as part of the mainstream repertoire. It can, therefore, hardly be deemed a forgotten or rarely performed {…}
There were high expectations surrounding the return of superstar Anna Netrebko to the Teatro Real were she had participated in Prokófiev’s “War and Peace” in 2001. The result was a mixture of excitement and disappointment: Firstly, there was the usual imposition of her husband Yusif Eyvazov in the program, a good singer who does not reach the quality and artistic {…}
On Tuesday, Oct 29, 2019, John Jay College was host to the New York premiere of “Zauberland,” which comes as part of Lincoln Center’s White Light Festival. This new work follows an unnamed young woman, forced to leave her native Syria and seek refuge in Germany, where she tries to resume her career as an opera singer. Described as “An {…}