Actual fun at the symphony with The Second City

Review

Audience stereotypes, flute-sex toy jokes, the inflated power of theatre ushers - it was all coming at me like a good roast. It was like that weird experience where someone tells you about yourself, picking out details that seem random or unexpected.

A new household name: George Benjamin

Review

This was an example of intelligent, thoughtful programming, a wonderful way to showcase Ensemble Modern, and an opportunity to feature the work George Benjamin, a true household name by now.

Chicago Ariodante pulses with emotion and suspense

Review

This Ariodante exemplifies what I hope to see more of from the Lyric in future seasons: creative, specific staging performed by committed and compelling singer-actors, with top-notch direction in the pit.

Talking with singers: Frederica von Stade

Interview

"I've been singing from the time I was three. Singing has always been a great comfort. As a child I had a wild imagination and I was always creating little scenes. If I was playing with leaves, I would make pathways and roads."

Vivaldi's Aztec exoticism: Montezuma

Editorial

If we look too closely with our 21st-century lens, Montezuma could be seen as problematic. Why champion the Spanish, when their colonialism was so vicious?

Smetana's Dalibor gets reality show treatment at Oper Frankfurt

Review

The program's narrative is constructed from carefully monitored, highly produced confessionals. Applause signs and sensational graphics provoke tailored reactions from the studio audience, which itself seems on the show's payroll.

PBO does overdue justice to Don Giovanni

Review

In her program note, McIntyre wrote that Don Giovanni is an opera "replete with grey areas, starting with Giovanni's own moral ambiguity." But in reality, the libretto couldn't be clearer, from the violent rape in the very opening scene to his refusal to repent in the grim finale.

Inventive and playful: The Monstrous Child

Review

It was very much a young person's opera and was therefore theatrical in a way that is rarely seen in large scale opera productions. Though it is meant for a younger crowd, it wasn't overly simplified or polite. It was gritty, honest, and unapologetic.

Baroque novelty from Opera Atelier: The Angel Speaks

Review

If anyone doubted the longevity of Opera Atelier's plans to commission new works, they've been quick to prove themselves. It makes me more curious to hear their mainstage season, knowing that the company has more than one baroque trick up their sleeve.

Small company, big laughs: Opera Fusion's Don Pasquale

Review

Accompanied by a chamber orchestra seated on stage, the show had all the grand, theatrical trappings of opera, sized down into a portable, affordable package.