The Bard SummerScape has announced its 2020 season celebrating the Life and Times of Pioneering Parisian Polymath Nadia Boulanger, with Seven-Week Arts Festival in New York’s Hudson Valley. For the purpose of this article we will only focus on the vocal performances. Opera This season will mark the first fully-staged American presentation of Chausson’s “King Arthur,” directed by award-winner Mary {…}
I think the trickiness of reviewing this work – for me, at least – can be expressed by an exchange I had with a couple at Bard’s Sosnoff Theater during the intermission of the Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s opera, “Das Wunder Der Heliane (The Miracle of Heliane).” Apparently, a woman had noticed me taking notes during the performance, perhaps deduced I {…}
In order to review Bard Summerscape’s production of Anton Rubinstein’s seldom-heard opera, “Demon,” it may be best to actually review the work itself. This isn’t, after all, the super-familiar “La Bohème” we are talking about. While apparently the opera has found favor and a niche in the Russian Motherland, it is largely unknown throughout the rest of the known operatic {…}
The 2017-18 season comes to an end. Now what do you do? Or more like where do you go? Opera lovers know that there are a plethora of festivals to check out, but many are distant from their own traditional opera companies and it can turn into a challenge trying to figure out where to fly out to in the {…}
The Bard Summerscape has announced its 2018 festival programming and will present three operatic selections. Since its inception, the festival has been committed to reviving important but neglected operas and this year will be no different. In 2018, the festival will present a new American production of “The Demon” by Anton Rubinstein The opera will be headlined by Olga Tolkmit {…}
“Halka” is considered one of the first great Polish operas in the canon. While it is rarely performed outside of Poland, Stanisław Moniuszko’s work has had a couple of outings in the United States. This season, the Bard Music Festival presented it in collaboration with the Polish National Opera in a semi-staged version that while not completely satisfying in its {…}
The festival season keeps on rolling along with a number of performances across the states. At the Glimmerglass Festival you can get your helping of bel canto with “The Siege of Calais” or modern opera with “Scalia Ginsburg” on Friday. You can enjoy a musical in the form of “Oklahoma” or Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess” on Saturday with an offering {…}
Let me start off by saying “Dimitrij” is not Dvořák’s melodic masterpiece nor is it the most important work by the composer. But Dvořák’s sixth opera is a compelling grand opera that deserves more exposure and more productions. In sum, while listening to this unique opera, one can certainly hear hints of the dramatic prowess Dvořák would eventually utilize to {…}
It will be another busy opera weekend as we enter the home stretch of the summer season. But this one is special because it will feature the first fully staged production of an opera by a beloved Czech Composer. Dvorak’s “Dimitrij” will make its first staged production in the US as part of the Bard Summerscape with performances on Friday {…}
This weekend, Dvorak’s “Dimitrij” premieres at the Bard Summerscape. The opera is being staged in the U.S. for the first time by director Anne Bogart, a Bard graduate. She has directed numerous opera productions including Bizet’s “Carmen” and Verdi’s “Macbeth” at the Glimmerglass Festival and has also helmed Bellini’s “Norma” with the Washington National Opera. Her theater work has been {…}
Now that that most of the major opera companies in the U.S are about to finish their 2016-17 season, most opera lovers will be left searching for what to see. While most festivals take place in Europe, many companies and festivals will be active introducing new works, bringing old classics and discovering new talent. The following is a list of {…}