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Reviews, Stage Reviews

53rd Wratislavia Cantans Festival Wrocław Poland Review: Król Roger

https://operawire.com/53rd-wratislavia-cantans-festival-wroclaw-poland-review-krol-roger/

For many opera lovers appalled by the excesses of regie theater, concert performances are an appealing alternative. Singers standing in sackcloth and rags are infinitely preferable to Hans Neuenfels’ whisker-twitching “Lohengrin” rats or Claus Guth rocketing Rodolfo into outer-space in a South Park Kenny space suit. The problem is that as Richard Strauss and Clemens Krauss wittily explained in “Capriccio,” opera has {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

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

https://operawire.com/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 {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Metropolitan Opera 2017-18 Review – La Bohème: Angel Blue Triumphs in Truly Engaging Revival of Puccini Classic

https://operawire.com/la-boheme_october-9/

One had to wonder, in the near full-house at a Columbus Day performance of the Metropolitan Opera’s venerable “La Bohème,” how many in the audience didn’t get to Paris this summer. Or perhaps ever? And how perfect to see this “La Bohème” on an unseasonably warm, humid night — that indeed cried out for a café table outside, to watch {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Teatro dell’Opera di Roma 2017-18 Review – Fra Diavolo: Great Singing & Production Marry Comedy & Drama Seamlessly

https://operawire.com/teatro-dellopera-di-roma-2017-18-review-fra-diavolo-great-singing-production-marry-comedy-drama-seamlessly/

During the 19th century “Fra Diavolo,” written by Auber to a libretto by Scribe, was one of France’s most popular operas, amassing over 900 performances at the Opéra Comique, before finally being dropped from the repertoire in 1907. Nowadays, it has largely been forgotten, with only the occasional rare outing, of which Opera Roma’s is the latest offering. Yet, based {…}

Behind the Scenes, News

How President Donald Trump’s Federal Budget Cuts to NEA Would Hurt Opera Companies

https://operawire.com/how-president-donald-trumps-federal-budget-cuts-to-nea-would-hurt-opera-companies/

On March 16, 2017, President Donald Trump formally released his outline for the 2018 Federal Budget, officially making clear his intent to defund numerous agencies and projects while investing billions into the already well-funded military complex. Among the agencies getting the boot was the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), which provides tremendous support for numerous arts organizations. As noted {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

LoftOpera 2017 Review – Otello: A Powerful Leading Lady & Unique Ambience Make Great Case for Rossini’s Shakespeare Adaptation

https://operawire.com/loftopera-2017-review-otello-a-powerful-leading-lady-unique-ambience-make-great-case-for-rossinis-shakespeare-adaptation/

I preface this by stating that this review is for the performance on March 20, 2017. I would also like to recognize that this is just one performance of a six-performance run. In an ideal situation, I would attend every performance and write a detailed review of the overall work. As it stands, I can only go on my perspective of one performance. A few months ago, I wrote about {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

New York City Opera 2016-17 Review – Candide: The Best of All Possible Sopranos Leads a Bountiful Comedic Garden

https://operawire.com/new-york-city-opera-2016-17-review-candide-the-best-of-all-possible-sopranos-leads-a-bountiful-comedic-garden/

The best of all possible outcomes for any opera is a strong cast and a great production for a great work. In this context, the New York City Opera can certainly check off the box next to “success” with regards to its new “Candide.” Directed by Harold Prince, the revival of Leonard Bernstein’s comic operetta, which is based on Voltaire’s {…}