There was a lot of drama: the LPO's Die Walküre

Review

This semi-staged production at the Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall with the London Philharmonic Orchestra had none of that. Well, except for the drama. There was a lot of drama.

Slapstick overload: The Italian Straw Hat

Review

At times the stage was so overcrowded with schtick it was overwhelming. Banana jokes, chamber pot humor and smoke machines did not add to the talents of the cast or the beauty of the music.

The women rule in FGO's Figaro

Review

Florida Grand Opera's Le nozze di Figaro, which opened on January 26 at the Adrienne Arsht Centre in Miami, took an uncharacteristically introspective look at this iconic comedic favourite, in a production that asked all the right questions, but sacrificed some laughs along the way.

A staggering team effort: Star Wars in concert

Review

The crowd, full of fans of all ages, shared a level of love and nostalgia for the work of John Williams and George Lucas that rivals opera fans' loyalty to Verdi and Wagner.

The introvert's dream: going solo at the opera

Humour

It's a silly thing, but even the most hardcore of introverts struggle with the idea that while they sit happily alone at a table or in a movie theatre, the people around them will notice and think they're a weird loner.

Florencia en el Amazonas takes on a life of its own at HGO

Review

Martínez's inimitable dulcet vibrato tones had a way of embodying the butterflies into which her character eventually transforms. Anybody wanting an avenue to approach this opera would do well to begin with her music, which offers this opera's most audible links with the traditional Puccinian repertoire which is her specialty.

Constructive frustration from ROH's Queen of Spades

Review

I think it is a good thing to have my sensibilities questioned. An opera score does not always need to be taken at face value and can be up to individual interpretation.

Opera + art = storytelling: a must-see event at Boston's Gardner Museum

Interview

"The stories of Lucretia and Virginia, gruesome and tragic, were seen by audiences of the Renaissance as stories of women's battles against tyranny. These stories of these women's heroic battles seem particularly apt and poignant at present. Botticelli's paintings illustrate these alarming and urgent stories with vividness."

Haroun and the Sea of Stories a surreal, timely treat

Review

It is always tricky to adapt a book about storytelling to any medium outside of the written word, and it is even more difficult when you deal with a work which wears its political overtones like a badge of pride.

Uneven Scarlet Ibis Meditative To A Fault

Review

Unfortunately, Weisman's score does not always meet the standard that Cote sets. The issue is that Weisman's music is often relatively one-note if something of little dramatic import is going on.