Opéra de Lyon 2017-18 Review – Macbeth: Ivo van Hove Turns Shakespeare & Verdi Into a “Bonfire of the Vanities” Video Game

Muttering the word “Macbeth” in a theatre is worse than hollering “Free Booze” at an AA meeting. The so-called “Macbeth curse” has existed since Shakespeare’s regicidal highland fling first appeared in 1606. Legend has it that on the opening night Lady Macbeth (played as Elizabethan/Stuart traditions demanded by a teenage boy) took method acting a bit far and dropped dead. Nowadays the {…}

NYU Steinhardt 2107-18 Review – Dialogues of the Carmelites: The Horrors of the French Revolution Portrayed In Potent Manner

A dimly lit stage and full cast of solemn faces set the tone at NYU’s Frederick Lowe theater on Friday night for Poulenc’s “Dialogues of the Carmelites.” Keenly aware of the grave subject about to unfold, audience members reflected back on a tragic time when the French Revolution was taking place in a reluctant and merciless manner.  The Reign of {…}

Carnegie Hall 2017-18 Review – Der Rosenkavalier: Kirill Petrenko Leads Bayerisches Staatsorchester in History-Making Performance

Excitement filled the air as the members of the Bayerisches Staatsorchester arrived on stage and Maestro Kirill Petrenko took to the stand. We were all still floating high after their outstanding debut performance the night before at New York City’s coveted Carnegie Hall, audience members began clapping even before they played the first note of Strauss’ “Der Rosenkavalier.” Their delicate {…}

Vienna State Opera 2017-18 Review: Parsifal: Alvis Hermanis’ Madhouse Production Will Drive You Crazy (Not In a Good Way)

Richard Wagner was a 19th century micro-manager in music long before the pejorative appellation appeared in MBA curricula. As his own librettist, casting director, set designer, costume conceptualist, lighting Loge and Dirigent, there was rarely any aspect of his music dramas which Wagner was prepared to relinquish to lesser talents. No composition was more tightly controlled than his ultimate opus “Parsifal,” which {…}

Metropolitan Opera 2017-18 Review – Luisa Miller: An Unquestioned Triumph for Yoncheva and Beczala

“Luisa Miller” is long considered to mark the beginning of Verdi’s “middle period” with themes of class division and an ill-fated romance that foreshadow the composer’s brilliant “La Traviata.”  It also came at a time when Verdi was more open to sourcing from outside of his homeland, with the German playwright Friedrich von Schiller’s Kabale und Liebe the material for {…}

New York City Opera 2017-18 Review – Il Pigmalione and Pigmalion: An Unusual & Exciting Double-Bill

One thing I can say, with assurance, about the newly revived New York City Opera’s programming is…that it is anything but the expected. Productions such as the recent “Delores Claiborne” and “Cruzar la Cara de la Luna,” all reviewed by me for Operawire, could not have been more different. But they all share an excitement and vision that is breathing new, creative {…}