(Credit: Javier del Real) There are very few times when an operatic miracle of artistic excellence happens inside an opera house. But attending the performance of soprano Yolanda Auyanet as Maria Stuarda on the night of December 19th was one of those. She is no stranger to the Teatro Real theatre and bel canto repertoire, including her performances of Il Pirata {…}
(Credit: Jennifer Taylor / Met Opera) The Metropolitan Opera is reviving “Rigoletto” for the second time this season. Following a run in the fall, the Met has enlisted a new star cast featuring a promising young tenor and one of the best baritones in the world. The result was a solid evening of music and drama. Hyperactive turntable But before {…}
On Jan. 7, the New York Philharmonic concluded its four concert performances of Strauss’s “Also sprach Zarathustra.” The concert cycle featured Strauss’s famed tone poem, Berlioz’s Song Cycle “Les nuits d’été” and a 2021 piece by Samy Moussa entitled “Elysium.” The result of the concert was a mismatched evening featuring some very inspired playing. “Elysium” The concert opened with Moussa’s {…}
Asmik Grigorian performed in the U.S. with her first performance in New York at Carnegie Hall, then a performance in Berkeley at Hertz Hall. These are her only two performances in the U.S., which makes them remarkable and exciting. The Lithuanian’s reputation proceeds her in so many ways and she did not disappoint. The performances also included Lukas Geniušas, the {…}
(Photo: Ken Howard / Met Opera) The curtain rose on Egyptian tombs. In the center, a rope came down and with it an archeologist. As he reached the bottom to get off the rope, he fell to the ground, the sound of his body crashing over the delicate violins that opened the prelude to Verdi’s Aida.” That was not supposed {…}
(Photo: After having opened the season with his production of “Adriana Lecouvreur,” David McVicar returned to Teatro Real for his new production of “Maria Stuarda,” co-produced with Teatre del Liceu, Donizetti Opera Festival-Bergamo and Finland National Opera. McVicar is one of the greatest directors of this generation and his productions are shown at major opera houses around the world. He {…}
(Photo: Vincent Pontet) If I were to rank the weakest opera libretti of all time, Jean-Philippe Rameau and Antoine-César Gautier de Montdorge’s “Les Fêtes d’Hébé ou Les Talents Lyriques” would certainly be in the top tier. Nevertheless, the opera-ballet possesses an allegorical charm that transcends the quality of its text—and it is a charm that is not solely musical. After {…}
(Photo: Daniel Dittus) “Jephtha” at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg was nothing short of a revelatory experience, thanks to the exceptional artistry of Concerto Köln and the Monteverdi Choir Hamburg. Under the direction of Antonius Adamske, the orchestra breathed new life into Handel’s late masterpiece. The choir, equally impressive, delivered each passage with precision and emotional depth. While the soloists showed skill {…}
(Photo Credit : ©Simon Gosselin) Opéra de Nancy, in co-production with Théâtre de la Ville de Luxembourg, Opéra de Reims and Théâtre de Caen, presents Rossini’s “La Cenerentola.” A youthful opera – the composer was only twenty-five years old when he wrote it – this dramma giocoso is reminiscent of opera seria in its moral ending and, as is often {…}