On his deathbed, Sergei Prokofiev talked of his hope that “War and Peace,” the opera he considered to be his greatest composition for the stage, would eventually become known the world over in its definitive version. In Russia and other Slavic countries this has largely been achieved, but in the West, performances have been rare indeed. Welsh National Opera’s decision {…}
The last time I saw Plácido Domingo up close was the first time: “Andrea Chénier,” San Francisco, 1975. He was a dashing superstar and a tenor. On Sunday, Oct. 21, 2018, he was General Director of the Los Angeles Opera, overseer of Operalia, The World Opera Competition, which he founded in 1993, conductor, divo, and baritone. What also changed was {…}
“Puccini in Love” surveys mostly well-known love duets from Puccini’s canon. Because the music will be familiar to opera aficionados, the album’s success or failure depends on whether the interpreters can make the familiar fresh. Mission accomplished. Marketing at Sony is betting on the love-story behind the album to sell the project, but its success has little to do {…}
The old Irish proverb “Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t” is particularly applicable to Barcelona-born director Àlex Ollé. Without insinuating any untoward obsession with Satan, in the past ten years Ollé has had numerous dramaturgical dalliances with the Prince of Darkness. First was the cutesy “[email protected]” in collaboration with Fura dels Baus co-director Carlos Padrissa. In {…}
This review is for the performance on Thursday, October 18, 2018. At The Dimenna Center for Classical Music, composer David Serkin Ludwig and librettist Katie Ford treated the audience to a night of Medieval and Renaissance-era music, all leading to the world premiere of their newest work, “The Anchoress.” Ludwig describes the work as “a new monodrama set to original {…}
Over the past decade, opera has evolved with many composers experimenting and infusing new ideas into the art form. That was what Fay Kueen Wang and Zou Shuang did when they created the new work “Orfeo.” The work, which was promoted as an “immersive opera,” had its world premiere at the Beijing Music Festival and the results were visually gorgeous {…}
Every year, there are a few events in the New York opera scene that occupy top billing in most people’s minds. Among them might be the Metropolitan Opera’s opening season performance, it’s New Year’s showcase, and some new productions littered here and there. For some, the New York City Opera’s productions also continue to hold value. And then some smaller {…}
San Francisco 2018: Vienna 2010. Connection? “Arabella,” Richard Strauss’s opera with a libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, their sixth and last operatic collaboration. Opening in a new production, the San Francisco Opera production is from Tim Albery, making his San Francisco debut. Albery designed it first for Santa Fe Opera in 2012. This was followed by a staging in 2013 {…}
Friday, Oct. 19, 2018 was a big night for the Metropolitan Opera. A few years back, the company commissioned an opera by Nico Muhly with a libretto by Nicholas Wright based on Winston Graham’s “Marnie.” The work premiered in 2017 in London and has now finally made its way to the Metropolitan Opera. The Met was packed in anticipation of {…}