Photo credit: © Richard Brusky “Behold the Man” made its world premiere at the Nicholas J. Horn Theatre for Opera Las Vegas’ 25th season on September 30th and October 1st, 2023. What began as a curious and fun project between creative team members, composer Paul Fowler, librettist Andrew Flack and producer Barbara Duff, has now evolved into something beyond their {…}
Illustrated, on the cover, with a close-up of Leonardo’s world-famous Salvator Mundi, the newest installment in Les Épopées’ series of “Grands Motets” is superlative, both in scope and in terms of its execution. Titled “Benedictus,” after Lully’s composition from 1685, it features four more motets, including one by Henri Du Mont which together make for a stunning fresco of French {…}
In the second cast of the Teatro Real de Madrid’s “Medea,” Saioa Hernandez proved a revelation. Her dramatic instrument with a bright dark timbre, her expansive vibrato, her thunderous high register, her sonorous low register in chest voice, and her fluid vocal line make her ideal for this role. Medea’s writing is mostly central, we could even say that it {…}
Photo credit: © Dominique Jaussein The Opéra de Nice Côte d’Azur inaugurated their 2023-2024 season with a new staging of Léo Delibe’s “Lakmé” coproduced with the Opéra-Comique in Paris, which premiered the production in September-October 2022, and the Opéra national du Rhin which will present performances in Mulhouse and Strasbourg in November 2023. Pelly’s Anti-Kitsch ‘Lakmé’ This coproduction marks the {…}
(Photo credit: Raftermen/courtesy of The Atlanta Opera) Atlanta Opera gave a skillful East Coast premiere of Paul Moravec and Mark Campbell’s “The Shining.” As most are familiar with the plot of Stephen King’s 1977 novel, “The Shining,” from the 1980 Stanley Kubrick film, I will not recount the storyline. However, it is important to mention the operatic version is based {…}
Steve Jobs forever changed the world of communications. The opera, “The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs,” composed by Mason Bates with libretto by Mark Campbell, opened at the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House and brought the story of how Jobs gave birth to the computer with panache. Although the opera’s premiere occurred in Santa Fe in 2017, and was the {…}
Credit: Richard Termine As a mopey high schooler, requiems were my thing: Mozart’s, Fauré’s, Verdi’s — it was these that introduced me to choral music on a grand scale, and if not for them, in all likelihood, I wouldn’t have been sitting in the Met auditorium watching Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin lead soloists and the Met Orchestra and Chorus {…}
(Credit: Karen Almond) The Metropolitan Opera re-opened its doors on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023, with a new production of “Dead Man Walking” by Jake Heggie and Terrence McNally. The production kicks off a major initiative for the company. Last year, the Met announced that due to the success of contemporary works, including “The Hours,” it would invest more potently on {…}
On a bend in the River Vltava in southern Bohemia, perched on a high rocky outcrop, stands the impressive castle of Česky Krumlov. It was founded in the first half of the 13th century by the Lords of Krumlov. Although the dynasty died out, the castle continued to develop under a series of new owners, along with the small town {…}