This review is for the performance on Jan. 19, 2019. The Teatro Real has initiated the arduous task of staging Wagner’s tremendous masterpiece “Der Ring des Nibelunguen,” presenting one opera per season. Staging this renowned masterpiece, in many ways, is the biggest challenge for any opera company. Wagner’s tetralogy is one of the most famed art works in Western culture and the mark of a great opera company is {…}
Many young singers, especially in the baroque repertoire, tend to choose dependable crowdpleasers when making their debut CD. “Lascia ch’io pianga” and “Ombra mai fu” appear with such ubiquity it seems almost sinful not to include them. Polish wunderknabe countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński’s first major release for Erato/Warner Classics courageously breaks the mold. There are so many exotic rarities and {…}
Wagner’s “DerFliegende Holländer” was one of the more eagerly awaited new productions of the Maggio Musicale, Fiorentina’s 2018-19 season. Not only is it one of only three Wagner productions scheduled for the season throughout the whole of Italy (the other two being productions of “Die Walküre” in Naples and Bari), but it also marks Fabio Luisi’s Italian Wagner debut. True {…}
This review is for the performance on Monday, January 14, 2019. This season’s revival of “Aida” is well underway after opening in September of 2018, boasting a compelling cast of artists such as Anita Rachvelishvili and Anna Netrebko. The second cast which reopened the opera’s run earlier this month has re-stoked the fires of excitement and offered audiences freshness to {…}
Debussy’s masterwork “Pelléas et Mélisande” is one of the most glorious operas ever written. Its melodies are elusive, but when performed at its maximum expression, it can wrap you up and transport you to a different state in a way only few other operas can. It is truly a masterwork. The Metropolitan Opera produced the work for the first time {…}
In this seventh edition of New York’s annual Prototype Festival, artistic co-directors Kristin Marting, Beth Morrison, Kim Whitener and Jecca Barry continue to build a contemporary opera and music theater festival that is canny, opportunistic, and fulfills a niche. Programmed during the high season of New York’s busy commercial arts markets (APAP, and ISPA), and experimental theater seasons (Under the {…}
Schubert’s “Winterreise” is perhaps one of the most famous song cycles in the world. Composed of 24 contrasting songs, it is a whirlwind of emotions and a test for any singer. For many, it is the pinnacle of the lieder repertoire and one that poses some of the most difficult challenges for a recitalist. On Jan. 10, 2019 at the {…}
On Jan. 9, 2019, the New York City Opera proudly presented the 35th world premiere in the company’s history, Ted and Lesley Rosenthal’s “Dear Erich,” at the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene at the Museum of Jewish Heritage. The jazz opera tells the story of Erich, a young man who emigrates the United States right as Hitler rises to power in {…}
This review is for the performance on Jan. 4, 2019. They say three times is a charm but in the case of the Metropolitan Opera, it took four tries to finally put on a production worthy of its legendary stature in the opera world. After three lackluster new productions, the company has finally hit a high note with Sir David McVicar’s 2010 {…}