“You gotta disturb the earth to make it grow.” Uttered by Charles Blow’s uncle Paul in Act one of “Fire Shut Up in My Bones,” that line means so much in the context of this work, our world, and on Sept. 27, 2021, the opening of the Met Opera’s 2021-22 season. First up, this was a historic night. Terence Blanchard {…}
(Photo: Falk von Traubenberg) Very occasionally we are fortunate enough to experience an opera production that leaves an indelible imprint on our memories; a never-forgotten experience in which adjectives such as ‘brilliant,’ ‘breath-taking’ or ‘stunning’ come to mind and can be used without any sense of exaggeration. Such was the case with Bayreuth Baroque Festival’s performance of Nicolà Porpora’s opera {…}
(Photo: Federico Balestro) Vicenza’s Teatro Olimpico opened its doors for the first time in 1585. Almost 450 years later Palladio’s masterpiece, the first stone-built indoor theatre in the world and now a UNESCO world heritage site, is still a functioning theatre, and the primary venue for Vicenza in Lirica’s annual music festival. The theatre’s design is based on the theatres {…}
(Photo: Ralf Münch) The recently restored Stadtkirche was chosen as the venue for the festival’s performance of Handel’s 1647 oratorio “Judas Maccabaeus.” Situated in the historical center, it is the city’s largest church, built in the late gothic style between 1611 and 1614. It is dominated by its two imposing domed towers which are connected by a bridge. It is {…}
(Credit: (c) ROH 2021. Ellie Kurttz) Antonio Pappano has been at the Royal Opera House for nearly two decades, yet has never conducted “Rigoletto,” a capstone of the repertory. This would be his first performance of the work – and the opening shot of the 2021-22 season at the Royal Opera. Another first for Oliver Mears, artistic director of the {…}
(Credit: Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera) Sunlight on the water, fog hovering. Homecoming at the Opera House, San Francisco September 2021. “Finalmente! Finally.” Masked and vaccinated we arrive at the doors of the War Memorial Opera House and are welcomed as if we are the stars. In a way we were: the ones who up until tonight, could not enter. The {…}
(Photo: Alciro Theodore da Silva) The relationship of art to society is a complex and ever-changing one. At times it is used to support the dominant values of the elite as was the case with the 17th and 18th century baroque, whilst during other periods, it sets itself up in opposition to society, underpinned by varying degrees of revolutionary intent. {…}
(Credit: SF/Maarten Vanden Abeele) Venetian composer Luigi Nono is no stranger at the Salzburg Festival. His operas and instrumental works have been regularly played here over the past decade. However, his most outspoken and outraged work, directed against the persistent violence perpetrated against innocent people was presented at the festival for the very first time. “Intolleranza 1960” premiered at Teatro {…}
(Photo: Francesco Dalla Pozza) Vicenza in Lirica opened last season’s program with a successful performance of Vivaldi’s oratorio “Juditha Triumphans,” a story from the book of Judith contained in the Apocrypha. The city of Bethulia is surrounded by its Assyrian enemies, and its leaders are too frightened to react. Judith, therefore, takes matters into her own hands. She sneaks into {…}
