Carnegie Hall 2017 Review: Frederica Von Stade, Jake Heggie, Harolyn Blackwell, Credo & Dallas Street Choir Put Together Moving Concert Calling For Tolerance

This season classical music in New York experienced several firsts. The Metropolitan Opera presented “L’Amour de Loin,” the first opera composed by a woman to be seen at the Met in over a century. The newly revamped New York City Opera presented the American premiere of “Angels in America,” the first of its annual LGBTQ opera initiative to be presented {…}

Jun 15, 2017

New York City Opera 2016-17 Review – Angels In America: Peter Eötvös’s Work Finds A Remarkable Cast Within A Forgettable Score

It’s hard not to applaud the New York City Opera for its return to form. A few years ago the company went into bankruptcy and had to close. It was devastating for opera lovers who wanted an alternative to the Metropolitan Opera and the rather barren New York opera landscape in general. But times have changed and thankfully the company {…}

Jun 14, 2017

Ópera de Colombia 2017 Review – Orphée et Eurydice: Amalia Avilán, Paola Gardina Make Strong Case for Colombia’s Operatic Potential

Gluck’s “Orphée et Eurydice” in many ways can be summed up by the movement of the four seasons – the bloom and beauty of love dashed away by the winter of death, only for spring to bloom yet again in a rebirth of the protagonists. At the Teatro Mayor Julio Santo Domingo, the Ópera de Colombia and Teatro Mayor Julio {…}

Jun 13, 2017

San Francisco Opera 2017 Review – Don Giovanni: Ildebrando D’Arcangelo, Erin Wall Lead Solid Cast in Musically Balanced Production

San Francisco Opera’s “Don Giovanni” brings us bass-baritones with gusto, sopranos with flair, a tenor who pleads his case with feeling, and an opera that never ceases to amaze. Opening SFO’s 2017 summer season, Jacopo Spirei, in his SFO debut, offers us the ever satisfying chestnut in as provocative and seductive a production as the Don himself. Who can {…}

Jun 13, 2017

The Cleveland Opera 2016-17 Review – La Bohème: Supporting Cast Puts Up Strong Showing As Leads Struggle

Cleveland is tough on her Mimì’s. Just over a year ago, Cleveland Opera Theater brought the Puccini warhorse “La Bohème” to the Masonic Auditorium of Cleveland, with founder and Executive Director Andrea Anelli as the tragic heroine; a month later, she arrived at an impasse with her Board of Directors and was out. One wonders whether Dorota Sobieska, who for {…}

Jun 8, 2017

Moscow Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra Tour Review: Vladimir Spivakov Leads A Delightful Concert Starring Hibla Gerzmava

For the past week the Moscow Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, under the direction fo Vladimir Spivakov, has been touring the country performing works from Shostakovich, Bellini, Grieg, Mozart and many more. It has been a tour accompanied by Hibla Gerzmava and Danielle Atka. After successful concerts in Chicago, it was time for New York audiences to see what the hype was {…}

Jun 7, 2017

New York Philharmonic 2016-17 Review: Alan Gilbert Says Goodbye With a Monumental ‘Das Rheingold’

Alan Gilbert is saying goodbye to the New York Philharmonic as music director. It ends a tenure that brought significant new works and experimented with the standard repertoire alongside one of the finest orchestras in the world. But Gilbert has made sure to make opera a mainstay for the New York Philharmonic so it is no surprise that he ends his {…}

Jun 5, 2017

Washington National Opera 2016-17 Review: ‘Trading Voices’ Gala Is An Inspiring Tribute To Opera

How do you put on a gala? That is a question that most houses sometimes ask. Some think it is about uniting the most stars and having them walk on stage and just sing arias one after the other. Other houses put on different scenes from operas. Most recently we witnessed singers in costumes, standing and singing for over four {…}

May 30, 2017

Opera Parallèle Review 2017: Les Enfants Terribles Aren’t So Terrible After All

Once again, San Francisco offers us an original, Opera Parallèle’s “Les Enfants Terribles” by celebrated American composer Philip Glass. In 1996, Glass adapted the story from the novel (1929) and film (1950) of the same name by the famous French artist and toast of the town Jean Cocteau, who himself took the myth of eternal youth as his starting point. Glass’s opera-ballet {…}

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