(Photo credit: Cory Weaver) The West Coast premiere of “The Handmaid’s Tale“, by composer Poul Ruders and librettist Paul Bentley fills the War Memorial Opera House with a performance as harrowing as the dystopic story itself. Delayed by the pandemic from its originally scheduled debut, the co-production of San Francisco Opera (SFO) and the Royal Danish Theatre runs through October {…}
(Photo credit: Steve Pisano) Gelsey Bell’s opera “mɔɹnɪŋ [morning//mourning]” originally made its music theatre world premiere in January 2023 as a co-production of Beth Morrison Project’s PROTOTYPE Festival and HERE. This year, as a production of the “Angel’s Share,” a concert series that takes place at the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn curated by Andrew Ousley of Death of Classical, Bell {…}
(Photo Credit: Bettina Stöß / Photo courtesy of Deutsche Oper Berlin) Voices that move your heart and acting that moves your heart – this is Opera. With a tux in Vienna or a smart-casual look in Covent Garden. Champagne or water. Sustained attention or simply laying back and enjoying the night. Pleasing surprises and unbelievable disappointments. From the Met to {…}
(Credit: Ken Howard / Metropolitan Opera) (This review was written in collaboration with Francisco Salazar) After a hyped but underwhelming opening night, the Met Opera’s second at-bat in the 2024-25 was the revival of a French classic that it hadn’t showcased since 2017. “Les Contes d’Hoffmann” is an incredible opera, rich in imagination, both in its musical and dramatic qualities. {…}
(Credit: MetropolItan Opera / Ken Howard) WARNING: This review features explicit language. It also uses some variation of the word “frustrating” a lot. To use a line from the cathartic and sublime climax in Jeanine Tesori and George Brant’s “Grounded” – “What the f*ck?” That quotidian expression perfectly encapsulates, in the context of the climax and at large, the frustration {…}
“Puccini: Love Affairs” is Sony Classical’s response to the marketing of the centenary of the Lucchese composer’s death. Sadly, instead of a complete opera recording, it is yet another compilation (in the fullest sense!) of familiar duets, and an aria from “Tosca” and “La Bohème” each. Jonas Kaufmann – its titular singer – represents the main selling point. The German {…}
(Credits: Hermann und Clärchen Baus) Giacomo Puccini’s “Tosca,” adapted from a play by Victorien Sardou, was famously criticized by American musicologist Joseph Kerman, who dismissed it as a “shabby little shocker” and predicted its swift decline from the operatic canon. Despite this, “Tosca” endures as a favorite among audiences, thanks to Puccini’s brilliant music and masterful orchestration that elevate it {…}
(Photo: Birgit Gufler) Christoph Graupner was a prolific German composer and harpsichordist from the late 17th and 18th centuries. Born near to the German city of Zwickau in 1683, he decided to study law in Leipzig before changing to follow a career in music. By 1705, he found himself working at the Oper am Gänsemarkt in Hamburg as a harpsichordist {…}
(Photo credit: ©EnricoNawrath) In preparation for the new “Parsifal” at Bayreuth last year, one may have harbored preconceived doubts as to the very idea regarding the use of Augmented Reality eyeglasses. After attending this year’s performances, the doubts lingered; and although this production may not be considered a negative adventure per se, one may not view this experiment as a {…}