Reviews

Actual opera buzz: The Swarm, in review

Actual opera buzz: The Swarm, in review

Themes of community, even sisterhood, poured through The Swarm, and we begin to get a sense of the relationship among the individuals in the hive. They were curious together, scared together, and when they finally take flight together, there was something reminiscent of Wagner's Valkyries.

Jenna Simeonov
In review: Norma at ROH

In review: Norma at ROH

Ollé's production slowly revealed itself to be much more than a collection of provocative symbols, yet it still left us with questions. There were unnecessary distractions: he let swing a giant, swinging thurible just before Norma's infamous "Casta diva" aria; and when Norma's kids fall asleep watching television, the flat-screen TV blared (silent) cartoons throughout her entire act II scene with Adalgisa.

Jenna Simeonov
In review: Pretty Yende's debut album, A Journey

In review: Pretty Yende's debut album, A Journey

It's easy to feel as though you're standing beside Yende in the studio, watching her bright smile and thoughtful musicianship at work. Yende has clear love for communicating with her audience, and with these recordings, she's also letting listeners into something that's quite personal.

Jenna Simeonov
New recordings: The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat

New recordings: The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat

The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat is not a technically a tragedy, though; deaths do not a tragedy make. The opera is based on Oliver Sacks's case study (1985), with a libretto by Sacks, Christopher Rawlence, and Michael Morris, and tells of a neurologist's study of his patient, Dr. P.

Tracy Monaghan
In review: The Barber of Seville at ROH

In review: The Barber of Seville at ROH

In theory, having a cast of big, hall-filling voices can seem like a pointless exercise (a futile precaution?), when the whole opera is designed to clear the way for easy, flexible, and funny singing. Yet this cast was a complete win from top to bottom; as they each sang their first notes of the evening, we were struck (and satisfied) with how these rich, go-big-or-go-home voices managed everything from dizzying coloratura to cackling comedy.

Jenna Simeonov
In review: Hannigan & Gražinytė-Tyla at the BBC Proms

In review: Hannigan & Gražinytė-Tyla at the BBC Proms

Abrahamsen's score is full of novel and surreal sounds, including an extraordinary moment of what feels like a heavenly choir and orchestra, shimmering with texture and treats for the ear. Throughout the score is a vocal motif, stretching words through repeated syllables, almost like a slow-motion version of a Baroque goat-trill.

Jenna Simeonov
In review: Béatrice et Bénédict at Glyndebourne

In review: Béatrice et Bénédict at Glyndebourne

In the great gag scenes with the Glyndebourne Chorus, Lionel Lhote was a big bite of extra comedy as Somarone, the music master. Lhote seemed a delightful buffo combination of the Komponist from Ariadne auf Naxos, Bottom from A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Bartolo from Il barbiere di Siviglia.

Jenna Simeonov
In review: A Midsummer Night's Dream at Glyndebourne

In review: A Midsummer Night's Dream at Glyndebourne

The royal fairy pair were delightfully complemented by David Evans as Puck, who was one part eerie, and one part utterly charming. He brought the audience to roaring applause at the finale, after an evening of chuckles and smitten murmuring from the crowd.

Jenna Simeonov
In review: The Threepenny Opera

In review: The Threepenny Opera

Singing curse words and unromantic sex are still relatively rare on the opera stage, even if the stories themselves are full of the same amount of emotional extremes. Whether or not you're the type to point at "gratuity" or "shock value," what Norris' production achieves is a totally organic theatre experience. At times the whole thing feels like meta-theatre, and other times the action holds you rapt.

Jenna Simeonov
In review: The Rape of Lucretia at TSMF

In review: The Rape of Lucretia at TSMF

In the title role, mezzo-soprano Emma Char, was every bit of the descriptions we hear of Lucretia at the beginning of the show. Delicate, pure, and lovely on stage, she had a groundedness that I really enjoyed. The whole space seemed to calm down when she stepped on stage - which was made all the more thrilling when her character shifts to a darker place after the events of Act II.

Greg Finney

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