Candide: projecting the best of all possible worlds

Review

There is the vexing notion that Bernstein was his own Dr. Pangloss, coaxing himself out of Westphalia into a musical and theatrical breach. If divine providence finally lights the way, it is energized more by the rigorous tug of theatrical absurdity and naive optimism, than Voltaire's satirical bite.

Sweeney Todd: Demon of Disguise

Review

Audiences have been flocking to the Barrow Street Theater, which has been converted into a 135-seat pie shop, for over a year. The producers have the delicious cheek to sell meat pies, by reservation only, prior to each performance. They will be serving up those pies well into the summer.

Distractions & indifference: Opera Omaha's Medea

Review

Cherubini's music suggests that Medea is going out in a blaze of remorseless glory, but nothing manifested in the staging to support this. I wanted to either hate Medea or cheer her on, but I was left feeling indifferent and unsatisfied.

Pacific Opera Victoria's steampunk-meets-fantasy Rinaldo

Review

As they fall asleep, the magical characters of Rinaldo are transported into their living room to enact the story to the children's delight. It's one part steampunk, one part fantasy movie, one part 50s B-movie, and 100% delightful.

Braid "brilliant" in Tosca role debut

Review

Her performance was made more exquisite by the fact she sang the whole aria on the floor, often in positions that would make most voice teachers and coaches cringe. And yet, her sound never suffered, maintaining her presence well above the swell of the orchestra, in nothing short of a world-class performance.

MetroWest Double Bill Provides Thrills & Delights Despite Mismatch

Review

Of course, sometimes the trickiest part of finding a pair of operas to form a double bill with is finding the links between the two works to be presented: after all, an operatic double-bill is only made stronger with the right pairing of works to perform.

Edmonton Opera delivers imaginative, inspired Don Giovanni

Review

If love is the soul of genius, as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart once said, what would that make lustful abandon? In the case of one of opera’s best-known "bad boys", a fiery eternity of damnation.

Tristan und Isolde: drug-induced elegance

Review

Caught between duty, desire and despondence, Kaufmann's Tristan navigated with a melancholic and determined grace, building to fanatical splendor only to dissolve in hallucinatory turmoil. Whether he can sustain all of this vocally and emotionally in a full production is a question that the opera world eagerly waits to have answered.

When Don Giovanni is the "Don"

Review

There is a temptation for any director, therefore, to try something different or new. To quote Stephen Sondheim: "you gotta get a gimmick." In this case, it's not a gimmick but a brilliant conceit from director Josh Shaw that works on every level. Here, Don Giovanni is…well…the "Don" as in the head of the local mafia.

Pärt's Passio closes Seraphic Fire's passionate series

Review

Pärt's trademark, soaring dissonances churning uninterrupted, punctuated by tense, expectant silences and delicate instrumental interludes. During the lecture preceding Seraphic Fire's April 14 performance, Artistic Director Patrick Dupré Quigley noted the symbolism behind this hardline continuity: a sense of predestination, advancing steadily through the traditional text toward the inevitable crucifixion.