There was much anticipation Saturday night for the opening of “Faust” at Lyric Opera of Chicago in a new co-production with the Portland Opera. It’s certain that Gounod’s tale of the title character making a deal with the devil has never been told this way. There’s probably a clear dividing line on this production. If you prefer a grand opera {…}
This review is for the performance on Jan. 4, 2018. It was the most hotly anticipated production of the new Met season, the run-up to its unveiling on New Year’s Eve as big a melodrama as the opera itself, filled with unexpected twists and turns. And like the opera itself, where its final act feels like an anti-climax after the {…}
Emmanuel Villaume will conduct the new production of “Tosca” on New Year’s Eve. The Metropolitan Opera announced that Villaume will conduct the opening performance on Dec. 31, 2017, and Jan. 3, 6, 9, 12, 23, and 27, 2018, replacing James Levine after being suspended due to sexual misconduct. Later performances on April 21, 26 and 30, and May 4, 8 and 12, {…}
“The voice must be heard.” For the last two years, this has been the calling card for the Metropolitan Opera’s marketing department, a call to just come and listen to opera as it is intended to be. An invitation to experience something that can’t be experienced anywhere. For many, that tagline has been particularly emblematic of the vocal wizardry that {…}
We’ve talked up the finest female performers. We’ve engaged in a discussion about the best men onstage. Now we shift over to the best conductors of the year, the artists that make the entire production work. In this edition, we only picked five, given that, unlike the other categories, there are far fewer to choose from. Here are our favorite {…}
Gounod’s beloved “Romeo Juliette” returns to the Met on New Years Eve with a star cast that includes two singers that had electric chemistry in another great French work a few years ago. The Performers Diana Damrau and Vittorio were a dynamic duo when they took the stage for Massenet’s “Manon” back in March 2015. Their chemistry was revered by {…}
