Reviews

Slapstick done right: Burnaby Lyric Opera's Barber

Slapstick done right: Burnaby Lyric Opera's Barber

When Figaro needs a guitar, a hand simply juts out from the wings with a guitar in hand, then promptly collects it when he's done. The show is full of hilarious slapstick comedy, amazing comic acting, and is an absolute comedic tour de force, which had the audience howling with laughter throughout.

Melissa Ratcliff
Barton leads "fantasy cast" in WNO's Don Carlo

Barton leads "fantasy cast" in WNO's Don Carlo

If you were asked to come up with a fantasy cast for a hypothetical production of Don Carlo, you'd be have a hard time assembling a lineup better than the one at Saturday night's performance. Tenor Russell Thomas sings the title role with clarity and passion, and not a hint of the strain which is all too common in this repertoire. Throughout their duet, his voice blends seamlessly with Quinn Kelsey’s Rodrigo.

Molly Simoneau
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
"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

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