Too many jewels & the search for meaning: PBO's Candide

Too many jewels & the search for meaning: PBO's Candide

"How can such ghastly horrors befall a world where all is for the best?" Candide asks. We may not live in the best of all possible worlds, but when the music fades and the curtain falls, it's our job to try and make the world a little better.

Carly Gordon - Feb 25, 2018
Hallelujah for the Amici Ensemble

Hallelujah for the Amici Ensemble

Some warmth on this chilly Thursday: the Amici Ensemble and soprano Mireille Asselin covers Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah. It's a clip from their newly released album, Inspired by Canada/Notre Pays. Curl up with some tea, hit play, and let the tears flow.

Jenna Simeonov - Feb 22, 2018
Jane Archibald: more than the sum of all those notes

Jane Archibald: more than the sum of all those notes

Desautels created a bit of magic with his first note of Schubert, dovetailing the piano's set-up note with an otherworldly sound that came out of nothing. He was really moving to watch. He seemed to cater his playing to the subtleties of Archibald's voice, even making his clarinet speak some text in the metaphorical margins of Schubert's score.

Jenna Simeonov - Feb 21, 2018
Chauvinism, cynicism, & great singing: Così fan tutte

Chauvinism, cynicism, & great singing: Così fan tutte

The overt chauvinism and cynicism of this plot aside, what isn't made clear — and what inevitably proves difficult for any production of this opera — is what happens at the end once the wager is divulged and all has been revealed to the sisters. Do the original pairs simply reunite despite all that transpired?

Michael Pecak - Feb 21, 2018
"We took a real chance with Great Scott."

"We took a real chance with Great Scott."

But really, who can argue with the riotous laughter that makes this recording something worthy of a listen? In opera, contemporary or otherwise, it’s a big deal to get an audience who reacts not only to what they see (and what was it they saw that was so funny? Ah, the plight of the live audio recording), but to details in the libretto.

Jenna Simeonov - Feb 21, 2018
Lovely and sincere: POV's La Bohème

Lovely and sincere: POV's La Bohème

In this version, Mimì is far more coquettish - obviously trying to catch Rodolfo's interest in a more seductive way than is typical of the demure Mimì we typically expect. Slayden's "Che gelida manina" was absolutely breathtaking, his voice resonant and brilliant, and he absolutely brought the house down with his flawless performance.

Melissa Ratcliff - Feb 20, 2018
Talking with singers: Tamara Gura

Talking with singers: Tamara Gura

"Trust your uniqueness and what you have to say. Make it your goal to find out what that is and how you can share it with the world. Take your time so that you enjoy each step of the process."

Jenna Simeonov - Feb 18, 2018
Technicolour G&S: ENO's Iolanthe

Technicolour G&S: ENO's Iolanthe

There were cheap laughs as well - seeing an MP with the hair of Boris Johnson was funny once, but the second time was over-doing it. An unwelcome flamingo made its way onto the stage for apparently no reason at all. The two-person cow suit made me feel like I was at a Christmas panto and not the London Coliseum - not to say that's an entirely bad thing.

John Beckett - Feb 18, 2018
"Viva la operetta!"

"Viva la operetta!"

Director Guerrero, using only a small acting space and nothing more than a door, a chair and bed as set pieces, utilized beautiful and, in some cases, symbolic rear projections to underpin the production, which is as much about the heart-breaking issue of immigration as it is about the heart-felt music.

Loren Lester - Feb 18, 2018
The Met's 2018/19 seas...zzzzzzzzz

The Met's 2018/19 seas...zzzzzzzzz

But, compared with the offerings at places like Opera Philadelphia, Minnesota Opera, The Atlanta Opera, and a fast-growing proportion of other regional opera houses in the United States and Canada, the Metropolitan Opera is proving its status as an honest-to-God opera museum.

Jenna Simeonov - Feb 17, 2018

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