Reviews

Twice on This Island

Twice on This Island

The percussionist inside Mr. Copeland finds the perfect places for the musical punctuation of xylophone, triangle, concert tom-toms, etc. And even though the tip-toeing steps of the bass and bassoon are heard throughout, it's the booming bass and bass drum that drive the drama, expressing the developing madness inside and outside the characters.

Loren Lester
Just plain great: PBO's Le nozze di Figaro

Just plain great: PBO's Le nozze di Figaro

Palm Beach Opera put on a great show, but it's worth noting that the aspects that made it so great – a stellar cast, thoughtful design, skillful interpretation – can be applied to any opera, regardless of inclusion in the Greatness canon.

Carly Gordon
A Butterfly, but not from Puccini

A Butterfly, but not from Puccini

The riverboat set is a marvel of art and engineering by Mark Frederic Smith. Taking up nearly the entire width of the proscenium, it gracefully and quickly revolves to reveal the front, back, and both sides of the boat, giving Ms. Evans and her cast many options to play the various scenes.

Loren Lester
The Lady steals the spotlight in ROH's Macbeth

The Lady steals the spotlight in ROH's Macbeth

What Verdi does illustrate brilliantly is the power struggle and fight for status between this couple. Who is the driving force behind all of these horrible acts? It could be either one of the power-hungry duo, although at times it's clear that behind every powerful man there is an even more powerful woman.

John Beckett
Strong despite the details: Rigoletto in Minnesota

Strong despite the details: Rigoletto in Minnesota

The musicality and the drama reached its peak with the final scene. The electricity coming up from the pit was so palpable, I felt physically ill when Rigoletto held his daughter for one last time. Despite a few issues with the production itself, the power of the story came through.

Callie Cooper
BLO's Threepenny Opera: a misanthropic delight

BLO's Threepenny Opera: a misanthropic delight

And then Kelly Kaduce came onstage: when her Polly Peachum walked on in an unglamorous wedding dress and unkempt black hair playing a sarcastic, monotone version of the typical operatic ingenue her character is written as, it became clear exactly what the work was setting out to do.

Arturo Fernandez
Review: ALICE and the Patriarchy

Review: ALICE and the Patriarchy

The gallery setting served Prescott's creation. The piece thrives on intimacy. The audience benefits from the freedom to wander around, whisper to their neighbor, and collectively figuring out how to behave in and interact in the brightly lit environment.

Jeremy Hirsch
Review: New music quartet entertains and bores

Review: New music quartet entertains and bores

In the second section, the ensemble collectively sustained a layered, nuanced, morphing wail. Imagine an emergency foghorn exploding a metropolitan soundscape, triggering car alarms, and galvanizing old-timey constables to lay on their whistles. Think a Lichtenstein-ian Whaam! Blam! Pop! in musical form.

Jeremy Hirsch
Fellow Travelers is "luminous" in Chicago

Fellow Travelers is "luminous" in Chicago

The chemistry between these two singer-actors in their respective roles was electrifying and irresistible. Your heart soared watching their passion ignite and then sink as their lives and personalities diverged.

Michael Pecak
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

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