Verdi's tragedy in jest

Review

To protect his daughter from the Duke (and his entourage of like-minded cruel courtiers), Rigoletto hides her from the real world. She isn't allowed to venture outside, except to go to church. And that's where the Duke spies her and decides he must have her. There is an abundance of well-placed irony throughout the drama.

Ravishing Orphic Moments with Gluck, Aucoin & Costanzo

Review

The work has finally reached a larger New York audience with two performances in an elegantly expanded version at Lincoln Center's Rose Theater. It features the 130-member MasterVoices and the Orchestra of St. Luke's. Smartly directed by Zack Winokur, the production has a sleek and courtly feel, enhance by Stacey Berman's stylish costumes.

5 Frankenstein-themed shorts leave you wanting more

Review

In spite of the fact that it's hard to tell a story in twenty minutes, I walked away from this exciting evening hungry for more short bonbons of opera. I was grateful for the theme of the evening, which the creative teams either ran with or ran away from.

Thaïs: dazzling score, dazzling set, dazzling cast

Review

I have liked every production in the Minnesota Opera this year, but after this one, I felt that the creative team had been holding out on us. Thaïs blew the rest of the season out of the water. The lighting (Marcus Dilliard), sets and costumes (Lorenzo Cutuli) were perfect. The creative team came out and took a bow, and they certainly deserved it.

Profound, moving Bernstein double-bill

Review

As it turns out: with some very intelligent staging and committed performances from the cast, the tale of Sam and Dinah's dysfunctional marriage became the perfect backdrop for Arias. Thus, it became the kind of thought-provoking evening that I think Bernstein always strived for but never seemed to get through his music.

Real Prisoners' Voices Make Heartbeat Opera's "Fidelio" Resonate

Review

Video projections reinforce the inmates' commitment to music and text, their chins raised, brows gently furrowed, and lips outstretched to form German vowels. The singing is emotionally wrenching in its delicate roughness.

And Here We Are: voice versus volume

Review

The opera is billed as a shadow puppetry opera. That sounds interesting but it is a concept that, while lending a certain artistic edge, falls short of fulfilling the promise of collaborative storytelling. The impression it leaves is more that of a crutch, which Welch's fine composition does not need.

Slightly unsettling: The Overcoat

Review

Sometimes they'll just lay under the bed and watch the action taking place, or curl up into a corner; it is creepy and odd, but works so well for this style.

Grappling with daily life: WNO's Candide

Review

The production is the focal point of the Kennedy Center's programming in honor of Bernstein's 100th birthday, and amounts to the most enjoyable night of theater offered by WNO this season with its just-right combination of thrilling music, vocal gymnastics, impressive theatrical effects, belly-aching comedy, and effective storytelling.

Exquisite singing in the COC's Anna Bolena

Review

It's not the most dramatically fulfilling show but the singing is exquisite. The show definitely could have benefitted from (more than) a few judicious cuts. It's one thing when the text is repeated in a number, it's quite another when it's repeated in three or four.