Too much magic? A Midsummer Night's Dream at ENO

Too much magic? A Midsummer Night's Dream at ENO

Britten's stunning opera has made it into the standard operatic repertory not only because of the genius writing but because of its malleability as a piece. There are so many directions the design of this opera can go, and so many choices to be made for the character's relationships, thus every new production of Midsummer can feel like a new opera entirely.

John Beckett - Mar 2, 2018
Appetizers & arias: Popera! at the Drake One Fifty

Appetizers & arias: Popera! at the Drake One Fifty

Popera! has a chic air of exclusivity to it, the menu items like "Love Elixir" cocktails and "Opera Cake" seeming positively swanky when paired with Mozart. My only wish is that the event grows in size - as in, more singing, please. I could have done with a couple of sets' worth of singing, perhaps over appetizers as well as cocktails, with a bonus handful of sweet picks - some Andrew Lloyd Webber, say - for dessert.

Jenna Simeonov - Mar 1, 2018
A "rare event" at Chicago Lyric: Piotr Beczała in recital

A "rare event" at Chicago Lyric: Piotr Beczała in recital

"I am pleased to say that, in my experience, audiences outside Poland respond to Polish music with great satisfaction and enthusiasm. I appeared one-and-a-half months ago in Zürich with this same program and the great majority of the audience seemed smitten with the Polish portion of the program."

Michael Pecak - Feb 28, 2018
Hilarity: Someone Like Me (L'opera di Facebook)

Hilarity: Someone Like Me (L'opera di Facebook)

The folks behind Something Blue: The Bachelor Opera and Connection Lost: The Tinder Opera are back! This time, it's Someone Like Me (L'opera di Facebook), a harrowing tale of likes, validation, and rye toast. Adam Taylor writes and directs, with music by Nathan Fletcher. Baritone Jonathan Hare and soprano Amelia Berry star in the fab, sassy cast of this must-see:

Jenna Simeonov - Feb 27, 2018
Three cities, lots of options: coming up in March

Three cities, lots of options: coming up in March

The opera by composer Stewart Copeland and librettist Jonathan Moore is based on the novel by Adolfo Bioy Casares, "La invención de Morel". An escaped fugitive ends up on a strange island, falls in love, is abandoned, and begins to unravel before meeting the mad scientist Morel.

Jenna Simeonov - Feb 27, 2018
Opera & Song(Fest) team up in LA

Opera & Song(Fest) team up in LA

It's an exciting step for the program, which focuses on the interpretation of art song. It's a place where voice lessons, coachings, and studio work between pianist and singer are distilled into the performing of song repertoire - a refreshing bit of clarity in the craft of communicating music and text to an audience.

Jenna Simeonov - Feb 27, 2018
"Great Operas Don't Just Happen."

"Great Operas Don't Just Happen."

"We emphasize a very detailed outlining process at ALT, wherein the librettist and the composer create beat-by-beat outlines - for both the libretto and the score - before a word of the text or a note of the music is written. For a short piece, like those in the upcoming Living Libretto event, this might take one month. For a longer, full-length work, the planning process could take six months or more, especially if extensive research is required."

Jenna Simeonov - Feb 26, 2018
Misnomers & interstellar sex scenes: Vasco de Gama

Misnomers & interstellar sex scenes: Vasco de Gama

In the 21st century, any production of an opera about a 15th-century colonizer is going to be about race and white guilt, whether it intends to be or not. While Kratzer adds in some key pieces of information that provide a certain degree of critical comment on the white colonial mindset, certain visual decisions throughout the production muddy that stance.

Blanche Israël - Feb 26, 2018
A bel canto winner: Atlanta's Fille du régiment

A bel canto winner: Atlanta's Fille du régiment

The entire cast had impeccable comic timing, but the crowd favorite was Stephanie Blythe's role and company debut as the Marquise of Berkenfield. Ms. Blythe, who is one of the most frequently sought after mezzo-sopranos of the day, moved with exceptional comic timing, managing to make her grace and composure a source of hilarity.

Daniel Weisman - Feb 26, 2018
David Lang's the whisper opera has intimacy issues

David Lang's the whisper opera has intimacy issues

Lang's music can feel voyeuristic, akin to watching a caged animal on display. The sonic vessel breaths and twitches while staying in place. The listener can examine and probe it at his leisure.

Jeremy Hirsch - Feb 25, 2018

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