San Francisco Opera 2017 Review – La Boheme: Uneven Cast Still Leads to Musical Magic

It’s easy to love Puccini’s “La Bohème:” art, love, friends who romp and cavort, street scenes with lively genre action, and music to die for. Puccini’s classic thrills even non-opera lovers. “I could go every night,” we hear spectators say on leaving the War Memorial Opera House. Bringing to life again this Co-production with Houston Grand Opera, originally performed there {…}

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Review 2017 – The Trial: Heroic Conducting Leads to Strong Production of Phillip Glass Opera

This is the closing weekend of the Opera Theater of St Louis’ 2017 season, and the singers and musicians are holding nothing in reserve. That was evident at last night’s performance of “The Trial” by Philip Glass and Christopher Hampton, based on Franz Kafka’s iconic story of bewilderment and dysfunction. The work has been substantially revised since it debuted in {…}

Chicago Symphony Orchestra 2017 Review: Riccardo Muti Delivers Wondrous Taste of Italian Opera

For decades Riccardo Muti has been one of the finest interpreters of Verdi’s music. In fact, his understanding of the great composer’s style has created countless imitators, but few with the capacity of truly understanding the balance between a propulsive rhythmic emphasis and the nuance of Verdian singing. On Thursday, June 22, 2017, the maestro showcased his interpretative genius with {…}

Teatro Colón Review 2017 – Otello: Colombia’s Foremost Theater Presents Riveting Willy Decker Production

While the entire opera world turned its attention toward Jonas Kaufmann’s “Otello” debut at the Royal Opera House, another production of Verdi’s famed masterpiece took to the stage in a hotly anticipated run. The Teatro Colón in Bogotá, Colombia is a small locale when compared to the world’s biggest opera houses, seating a little over 1,000 audience members. With baroque {…}

Russian Light Review: Olga Peretyatko Explores The Depths Of Russian Music And Culture In This Immaculate Album

Over the past few years, there has been an emergence of Russian albums recorded by many of today’s greatest divas. Many of the same arias, spanning from Rimsky Korsakov’s gorgeous oriental melodies to Rachmaninov’s lush melodies, havce been recording. It can be very difficult to listen to these pieces over and over unless that interpreter has something new to say. With her fourth {…}

Tiroler Landestheater Innsbruck Review 2017 – Orphée et Eurydice: Dancing Distracts From Gluck’s ‘Beautiful Simplicity’

In an inspired piece of programming the Tiroler Landestheater, Innsbruck paired Strauss’ “Capriccio” with Gluck’s “Orphée et Eurydice,” which were performed over two consecutive evenings. Separated by more than 160 years and in fundamentally different styles, they are nevertheless natural companion pieces. Although ‘Capriccio’ makes both musical and verbal references to Gluck, the connections between the two operas run far {…}