Transfixing: Soundstreams presents Tan Dun's Water Passion

Transfixing: Soundstreams presents Tan Dun's Water Passion

Michelle Colton, Aiyun Huang, and Ryan Scott showed what true musical versatility means, playing timpani, water (yes, they actually played the water - sometimes with cups to create a neat effect that reminded me of horses galloping through water), cymbals (which they would then dip in the water to create new effects), singing prayer bowls and that's just in the first two movements.

Greg Finney - Mar 13, 2018
Jerry Springer - The Opera hits New York

Jerry Springer - The Opera hits New York

But why be churlish when songs like "Diaper Man," "Him Am The Devil" and the production number, "This is My KKK Moment," tune up this gleefully lewd production? In fact, you would be advised to just sit back and be a complicit member of the audience that comes pre-stocked with an immensely talented group of misfits longing for their 15 seconds of fame.

John Hohmann - Mar 13, 2018
Levine's ugly exit, & the disposable Met

Levine's ugly exit, & the disposable Met

Now, as I read the conclusion of the Met's gross display of Righteous Response™ - their investigation, launched with seriousness only after this group of victims came forward with corroborating, damning accounts of abuse by Levine - I say, let it fall.

Jenna Simeonov - Mar 13, 2018
Orpheus & Eurydice in the hands of a theatrical genius

Orpheus & Eurydice in the hands of a theatrical genius

Though he has a decades-long, international reputation for his ballets, Mr. Neumeier's ingenious and beautiful choreography is only part of the story, or rather "his" story. Writers are supposed to write what they know; in this case, Mr. Neumeier directs what he knows. This is the famous opera written by Gluck in 1774, but it's no longer the travel and travail of a musician.

Loren Lester - Mar 12, 2018
A futuristic love story: The Invention of Morel

A futuristic love story: The Invention of Morel

"He is a super-genius who has created an invention that will change life as we know it. He is in obsessive love with Faustine. He has invited Faustine and the remaining characters (in the opera) to the island to woo Faustine. His gambit is to spend the rest of his days with her. ...which is kinda creepy on any level."

Jenna Simeonov - Mar 12, 2018
Kyra Millan: making Opera for All Ages

Kyra Millan: making Opera for All Ages

"The singing can sound silly to some at first, because it is a very intense, open sound, but with some of the best music ever written in the hands of a skilled artist, live music can bypass the intellect and resonate directly with the soul and heart."

Jenna Simeonov - Mar 12, 2018
Celebrating Bernstein in Chicago: "How can one not be enchanted?"

Celebrating Bernstein in Chicago: "How can one not be enchanted?"

How can one not be enchanted? This is the same Bernstein-ian smile I recognize in my teachers' recollections of their mentor, the same smile that, to my ears, permeates his whole artistic output, and the same smile that suffused the Lyric Opera of Chicago's commemorative Bernstein concert this past Saturday at the Lyric Opera House.

Michael Pecak - Mar 12, 2018
Heavy on the plot points: The Great God Pan

Heavy on the plot points: The Great God Pan

This is a fast-moving plot told through ten characters, with the six scenes totalling a brisk 85 minutes of music. At times, the story felt a bit overstuffed. With so many necessary plot points to get through, character growth got stifled; I found myself wanting a better sense of what motivated these characters, and who they are as individuals.

Michael Calderone - Mar 12, 2018
Talking with singers: Stephanie Blythe

Talking with singers: Stephanie Blythe

Blythe approaches her recital work with a refreshingly casual air, as though she doesn't confuse her passion with taking it all too seriously. She has even graced the recital stage with her ukulele in hand, a more recent passion-project of hers. "I just did a recital in New York; here we are in Merkin Hall, singing 'Don't Fence Me In' and I was accompanying on ukulele."

Jenna Simeonov - Mar 12, 2018
Elektra and Parsifal: Yannick at the MET

Elektra and Parsifal: Yannick at the MET

When Yannick made his Met debut on New Year's Eve, 2009, he wrought perhaps the most propulsive Carmen prelude ever from the Met orchestra and fuelled crazily impassioned singing from an all-star cast.

John Hohmann - Mar 9, 2018

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