Kidon Choi
Quinn Kelsey's Macbeth: a haunted, manipulated husk of a man
ReviewTo say the singing was excellent is an understatement. The line was solid through the whole range and completely unfazed by whatever physicality Kelsey took on. He managed the dramatic journey with great finesse as well. Macbeth, although a noble, and later a King - he's somewhat content to be in his position.
Roland Wood delivers terribly good Scarpia in COC's Tosca
ReviewYour skin crawled when he spoke to Tosca. You wanted to cheer when his carcass hit the floor in his office. Yet, besides all of this, it has to be well-sung. Wood's handling of the Baron's music was excellent. His tone evenly matched throughout his range, and a fantastic use of his dynamic colour palette to really dig into the darkness of Scarpia.
Soula Parassidis shines in Iphigénie en Tauride
ReviewParassidis gave what is perhaps one of the most electrifying performances I have ever seen at the opera house, and considering the amount of opera I have seen that is no small feat.
Baritone Stéphane Degout triumphs in the Park Avenue Armory's Board Of Officers Room
ReviewPuccini considered Suor Angelica his favorite work; it was also his most personal, inspired by his sister who was an actual nun. The music is all pleasingly lyrical but it's all a slow set-up for the eventual entrance of La Zia Principessa (as mentioned, portrayed here by the highly talented Ms. Lewis.)
Gianni Schicchi & Suor Angelica: professional Puccini at Juilliard
ReviewPuccini considered Suor Angelica his favorite work; it was also his most personal, inspired by his sister who was an actual nun. The music is all pleasingly lyrical but it's all a slow set-up for the eventual entrance of La Zia Principessa (as mentioned, portrayed here by the highly talented Ms. Lewis.)
Heartbeat Opera: Dial Lady M for Murder
ReviewEven if you are producing the original Verdi version of Macbeth, you better have a great 'Lady M.' Here with the story focusing on that character, the singer must be equally unimpeachable. Enter Ms. Algozzini, a diminutive Italian soprano who blasts us backwards with her extraordinary vocal cannon.
NYOANext!: The sound of (opera) music in the Bronx
ReviewSeven opera companies from NYOA's fifty company membership, performed arias and duets from familiar operas and from some upcoming productions which are part of the NYOANext! Festival.
Tosca at Heartbeat Opera: art to the point of distraction
ReviewShadi G can only get to her concept by imposing an element which proves to be downright distracting. She has added to the cast two non-singing members of "the secret police" who are ominously watching the proceedings and who even try, on several occasions, to arrest members of the cast.
The Elton John Act VII: Don't stop playing & never look back! The dreaded sight-reading
How-ToThe good news is that sight-reading can be worked upon and improved, though sadly too many people get bogged down in thorny nests of notes, and are unable to clear them away in order to find the music that lies beyond.
The Elton John Act VI: Between the Sheets – The Opening of Der Rosenkavalier
How-ToThere is no getting around what this stirring scene that opens Richard Strauss' opera Der Rosenkavalier is all about. Everything in the music depicts a morning of frantic and illicit rumpy-pumpy between the Marschallin and her younger lover Count Octavian.