Vienna State Opera 2017-18 Review – Ariodante: Sir David McVicar’s sumptuous staging for the Wiener Staatsoper Is a Case of Handel With Care

An alien orchestra playing in the illustrious Wiener Staatsoper is about as rare as a running of the bulls on the Ringstrasse. Apart from a one-night swap with the La Scala orchestra in 2011, in recent years only Les Musiciens du Louvre, Les Talens Lyriques, and the Freiburger Barockorchester have been granted such a privilege. The latest member of this {…}

Mar 2, 2018

Metropolitan Opera 2017-18 Review – Elektra: Yannick Nézet-Séguin Steals The Show In Strauss’ Most Violent Work

Richard Strauss’ “Elektra” returned to the Metropolitan Opera on Thursday, March 1, 2018, in a hotly anticipated revival of Patrice Chéreau’s production. Last time out, the production was a smash hit, its stripped-down sets allowing for the audience to focus on the violent drama put before us. It continues to work in that vein, though its overall stillness might not {…}

Mar 1, 2018

Theater an der Wien 2017-18 Review – Saul: Claus Guth’s Interpretation Is More Pasolini Than Prophet

When a lyricist describes his composer’s head as “full of maggots”, the chances of a harmonious collaborative outcome would seem slim. For Charles Jennens, the aesthete aristocratic librettist of Handel’s oratorio “Saul,” such a jeremiad was not a solitary instance. The principal object of Jennens’ ire was Handel’s highly original orchestration, especially the invention of a tinkling bell-like keyboard called a “Carillon” {…}

Feb 28, 2018

Lyric Opera of Chicago 2017-18 Review – Così Fan Tutte: Crebassa and Martinez shine in Mozart’s Infidelity Comedy

The basic premise of “Così fan tutte” is that the women are the butt of the joke as they are fooled by wily old Don Alfonso and the maid Despina into falling for men from distant Albania while believing that their lovers are away having gone to war. Despite that plot point, it is fair to say “advantage women” for {…}

Feb 28, 2018

Teatro la Fenice 2017-18 Review – Zenobia: Embracing the Past & Future To Create Compelling Performance in the Present

More than 300 years ago, in 1694, the small Venetian theatre of Teatro Grimani di SS Giovanni e Paolo presented Albinoni’s first opera, “Zenobia, Regina de’ Palmireni,” as part of the carnival season. It has now returned to Venice, this time at the Teatro Malibran, for only its second production in the modern era (The first being in Damascus in {…}

Feb 27, 2018

Metropolitan Opera 2017-18 Review – Madama Butterfly: Ermonela Jaho Triumphs In Tragic Portrayal Of Puccini’s Heroine

Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” has been a staple of the repertoire for years and at the Metropolitan Opera, it has had somewhat of a renaissance ever since Anthony Minghella’s inventive production came opened in 2006. The opera is really a showcase for a great soprano who can bring forth intense emotions and who can captivate an audience with the lead character’s suffering. For this {…}

Feb 26, 2018

The Cantanti Project 2018 Review – Euridice: An Intimate Experience That Shows Us What Opera Is, and What It Could Be

“Euridice” by Giulio Caccini was printed in 1600, as the first publication of an opera score. This signified the birth of opera and forever established the ground-breaking genre that we still admire today. Causing a stir at the start, Caccini is said to have been in direct competition for the publication of this score with another regarded composer of the {…}

Feb 22, 2018

Barbican 2017-18 Review – Dead Man Walking: Joyce DiDonato Shines In Jake Heggie’s Haunting Disarray Of An Opera

Jake Heggie’s 2000 opera “Dead Man Walking” – based on the memoirs of Sister Helen Prejean and inspired by the film of the same name – hardly conforms to operatic standards. An intersection of “Porgy and Bess”-like motifs, rock opera recitatives, and the echoes of New Orleans jazz, it treats the opera template with a moderate respect: scant arias and {…}

Feb 20, 2018

Metropolitan Opera 2017-18 Review – Semiramide: Elizabeth DeShong Shines In Disappointing Revival

Of Rossini’s opera’s “Semiramide,” his final Italian work, is often considered one of his finest. You probably would not draw that conclusion from the performance at the Metropolitan Opera on Monday, Feb. 19, 2018. The opera, which tells the tale of the “battle” for the throne of Babylon in the wake of its fallen monarch Nino, is a rather long {…}

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