Opera Lafayette Presents Vivaldi’s Catone in Utica
The Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College, December 1, 2015—Baroque opera is rarely performed in New York and when it is, it is
Uneven New Cav/Pag at the Met
Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, NY; April 29, 2015—The Metropolitan Opera’s generations-old productions of opera’s most famous double bill has stood the company in good
Bartók and Tchaikovsky–Strange Bedfellows at the Met
Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, NY; February 3, 2015–What on earth, one might ask, do Tchaikovsky’s operatic swan song, Iolanta, a sweet fairy tale with
Riccardo Frizza Leads Fresh, Moving Bohème
Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, NY; January 19, 2015–Although there are few expressions in music criticism worse than “perennial favorite”, there really is no other
Raunchy, Wrenching Mtsensk at the Met
Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, NY; November 17, 2014–Shostakovich’s outrageous Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk is back at the Met after a 14-year absence. The production
Big-Boned But Routine Aida
Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, NY; Nov 4, 2014–The Met’s 26-year-old production of Aida is still looking good. Sonja Frisell’s sets, which use the stage
At Last–A Glorious Butterfly At The Met
Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, NY; April 9, 2014—The Met’s remarkably beautiful and touching production of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, directed by the late Anthony Minghella
Superbly Sung Sonnambula At The Met
Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center, NY; March 25, 2014—Opera lovers are fully aware that the plot of Vincenzo Bellini’s La sonnambula is threadbare and silly: When
Bryn Terfel, Emma Thompson in Sondheim’s “Sweeney”
Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, NY; March 5, 2014—A limited run (five performances) of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, led by Alan Gilbert with the New
Philippe Jaroussky Wins The Battle
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; February 25, 2014—Thirty-six year old, cherubic-looking Philippe Jaroussky is the only countertenor (so far) with superstar status. Unlike most