O19: A Genuine Festival and an Operatic Feast
Producing one opera is a chore. Even when, in an unusual course of events, scenery and costumes are minimal, there’s a score, orchestrations, a libretto, the staging, and the delicate … Continue reading
Lightning Rounds — The Cripple of Inishmaan, The Elixir of Love, Forever Plaid
April 2016 proved a cruel month in terms of time demands, so I am in a position of having to catch up with commenting a number of productions by screwing … Continue reading
Cold Mountain — Opera Philadelphia at the Academy of Music
A chilling first scene sets the tone and context for Jennifer Higdon and Gene Scheer’s gorgeous and moving opera, “Cold Mountain,” an epic piece given a vibrant, unstintingly dramatic production … Continue reading
La Traviata — Opera Philadelphia at the Academy of Music
Lisette Oropesa in the Opera Philadelphia production of “La Traviata” is nothing less than an operatic ideal. As lithe as she is beautiful, Oropesa sails across the Academy of Music … Continue reading
Yardbird — Opera Philadelphia at Perelman Theater
Maestro Corrado Rovaris begins the downbeat, an easy drum riff that leads a mellow combination of horns. Daniel Schnyder’s score for his and librettist Bridgette A. Wimberly’s view of jazz … Continue reading
Don Carlo — Opera Philadelphia at Academy of Music
The artistry of one Giuseppe Verdi hardly needs more extoling, but under the baton of maestro Corrado Rovaris, the Opera Philadelphia orchestra reveals Verdi’s score for his 1867 opera, “Don … Continue reading
Dialogues of the Carmelites — Curtis Opera at Perelman Theater
Life and death, and particularly death, are pertinent subjects for the characters of Francis Poulenc’s 1957 opera, “Dialogues of the Carmelites.” The France in which they live is in the … Continue reading
Ainadamar — Opera Philadelphia at Academy of Music
The click of castanets leads into other rhythmic percussion and is soon joined in perfect beat and harmony by the graceful stomp of Flamenco dancers, their skirts flowing to the … Continue reading
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