Photo credit: ENO 2022 © Tristram Kenton Gilbert and Sullivan have become English National Opera (ENO) staples. Jonathan Miller’s much-revived radical “The Mikado” in the ’80s provided the template: serious singers and serious comedy. In recent years cultural heavyweights like Mike Leigh have created productions for the company. The last two shows—“Iolanthe” and “HMS Pinafore”—were directed by Cal McCrystal, most {…}
(This review is for performances of Nov. 13 and 14. Performed was the 1874 three–act version of the opera.) On paper, few performances of Offenbach’s “La Périchole” could be more exciting than this new production at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées: Laurent Pelly is arguably the director most knowledgeable about Offenbach’s affairs working right now; Marc Minkowski conducting Les Musicians du {…}
Photos: Dario Acosta The Richard Tucker Award and Gala came back in full force after two years with no awards. A galaxy of operatic stars was on hand for the event held in the newly renovated David Geffen Hall, which was designed to remedy the venue’s seemingly intractable issue with—of all things—acoustics. (Geffen Hall is the home of the New {…}
San Francisco Opera created a memorable performance out of Verdi’s “La Traviata,” a work That once heard, will always im[act you deeply. Director Shawna Lucey, the recently appointed general director of Opera San José, and her team created a lovely production that detailed the changing seasons of nature and buttressed the changing love-relationship between Violetta and Alfredo. Each scene depicted shifting {…}
(Photo: Clive Barda) For this year’s Wexford Festival Opera, its artistic director, Rosetta Cucchi, decided upon “Magic & Music” as its defining theme. As an umbrella term, it gives plenty of scope for selecting the operas for performance. The term can be applied narrowly, restricted to spells, wizards and witches, or more widely, bringing in fairy tales, legends, myths, ghosts, {…}
(Photo: Padraig Grant) One of the attractions for the young singers participating in Wexford Festival Opera’s Factory program is the chance to perform on the main stage in an opera in front of a large audience. Last year, they starred in a very successful production of Bellini’s “I Capuleti e i Montecchi” which featured such artists as Jade Phoenix and {…}
(Credit: Curtis Brown) In a recent interview with OperaWire, composer Lori Laitman noted that Verdi’s “Rigoletto” was among her favorite operas. “Verdi’s ‘Rigoletto’ is one of my favorites and the use of music to reveal the horrific fact that the Duke is still alive is so chilling,” she noted. Taking in the work on Monday, Nov. 14, 2022 for the {…}
(Photo: Clive Barda) Once upon a time, a magician named Prospero was overthrown and expelled from his kingdom by his brother Antonio. He eventually found refuge, with his daughter Miranda, on a small island that belonged to an evil sorceress called Sicorace, whom he imprisoned in a rock, then turned her monstrous son, Calibrano, into his slave. Using his powerful {…}
(Photo: Festival Janacek Brno) In 1902, Janáček’s daughter, Olga, then only 20-years-old, went on a trip to visit her uncle in St. Petersburg. Being a keen admirer of Russia, she was planning to spend an extended period in the Russian capital to deepen her knowledge of the language and its culture, but events took a devastating turn: she caught typhus {…}