Brooklyn’s Regina Opera company has kicked off its 2017-18 season with Verdi’s timeless “La Traviata.” As befitting a company entering its 48th season, its knowledge and execution of the work well-reflected the experience of the cast and crew. The rather-limited stage of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Academy was used to great effect as the faces flooded on and {…}
As he moves into heavier repertoire, one composer has been rather absent from the repertoire of Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flórez – Mozart. Listening to him dominate the bel canto repertoire, it has always been of great interest to hear this brilliant and polished singing actor take a stab at a composer equally noted for his polish and finesse. The {…}
It’s always a welcome sight when companies stage works that are underappreciated and lesser known. It’s also risky because such unfamiliarity can result in smaller audiences who would be more willing to come out for works that are more recognizable. With that in mind, it was admirable for New Orleans Opera to present Jacques Offenbach’s “Orpheus in the Underworld” last {…}
I will kick off this review by noting that it was the first time I had ever seen “Cenerentola” and I was charmed. It was a magical evening, with great music, excellent singing and loads of comedy and stage business. It began with a fine rendering of the overture by the Orchestre Metropolitan conducted by the Spanish conductor Jose Miguel Perez-Sierra. {…}
A wise man of opera once said in my hearing, testifying to the enduring emotional impact of Puccini: “When I no longer cry at ‘Boheme,’ I quit.” The same should be said of “La Fanciulla del West,” from “Ch’ella mi creda” to the end – and so it is with Lillian Groag’s production that opened on Nov. 10 at the {…}
Pretty Yende has become one of the world’s most sought-after singers for her energetic and positive stage presence. Her Cinderella story is widely recognized and her performances have become must-see events. Having dominated the world’s greatest stages and released her first album “A Journey,” Yende now brings audiences a taste of what is to come in her second album “Dreams.” Like her first {…}
“The voice must be heard.” For the last two years, this has been the calling card for the Metropolitan Opera’s marketing department, a call to just come and listen to opera as it is intended to be. An invitation to experience something that can’t be experienced anywhere. For many, that tagline has been particularly emblematic of the vocal wizardry that {…}
To put what is wordless back into words and believe it will express the same thing is like offering the hen her egg again. So, to say what Ian Bostridge transmitted at Cal Performances on Nov. 10, 2017, seems arbitrary and futile. But, we are human, and we try, listeners, music and life-lovers. Schubert’s “Winterreise” is the story of a {…}
When you come right down to it – French Grand Opera – is very grand. A large canvas, huge sets, wide-ranging costumes, display of various kinds, sweeping music, on occasion, and musical textures that vary and offer range of interest – plus human beings, who, set into this panorama – resume their rightful size: ordinary. What? We control our own {…}