Gianni Schicchi & Suor Angelica: professional Puccini at Juilliard

Review

Puccini considered Suor Angelica his favorite work; it was also his most personal, inspired by his sister who was an actual nun. The music is all pleasingly lyrical but it's all a slow set-up for the eventual entrance of La Zia Principessa (as mentioned, portrayed here by the highly talented Ms. Lewis.)

Heartbeat Opera: Dial Lady M for Murder

Review

Even if you are producing the original Verdi version of Macbeth, you better have a great 'Lady M.' Here with the story focusing on that character, the singer must be equally unimpeachable. Enter Ms. Algozzini, a diminutive Italian soprano who blasts us backwards with her extraordinary vocal cannon.

NYOANext!: The sound of (opera) music in the Bronx

Review

Seven opera companies from NYOA's fifty company membership, performed arias and duets from familiar operas and from some upcoming productions which are part of the NYOANext! Festival.

Tosca at Heartbeat Opera: art to the point of distraction

Review

Shadi G can only get to her concept by imposing an element which proves to be downright distracting. She has added to the cast two non-singing members of "the secret police" who are ominously watching the proceedings and who even try, on several occasions, to arrest members of the cast.

The Elton John Act VII: Don't stop playing & never look back! The dreaded sight-reading

How-To

The good news is that sight-reading can be worked upon and improved, though sadly too many people get bogged down in thorny nests of notes, and are unable to clear them away in order to find the music that lies beyond.

The Elton John Act VI: Between the Sheets – The Opening of Der Rosenkavalier

How-To

There is no getting around what this stirring scene that opens Richard Strauss' opera Der Rosenkavalier is all about. Everything in the music depicts a morning of frantic and illicit rumpy-pumpy between the Marschallin and her younger lover Count Octavian.

The Elton John Act V: Riding the Rollercoaster – The Act II Finale from Le nozze di Figaro

How-To

Just as you would coach a singer, make sure you are taking appropriate breaths for the phrases you are singing, as otherwise it is here you will start feeling ill! This will also have the advantage that you are not tempted to rush a phrase because you are running out of breath.

Brilliant: a compassionate Bluebeard and a comforting Castle

Review

Finley's Bluebeard is caring, soft-spoken, and deliberately gentle. The scene opens in silence with him preparing to bring Judith home. He's so excited to see her, he kisses her photo and practically skips out the door.

The Elton John Act IV: Fiddly for the Fingers – The "Smugglers’ Quintet" from Carmen

How-To

Though this excerpt can be frustrating at times due to its technical challenges, I promise it gets easier. Nevertheless, if I can, I always avoid starting with it in an audition, as it works best for me when my fingers are a little warmed up and I'm feeling a little more comfortable with my surroundings.

The Elton John Act III: Violent, sadistic & utterly engaging - the Maid Scene from Elektra

How-To

Whatever the staging, the atmosphere the music creates is oppressive, nasty and yet sometimes tender, and without a feel for the context of the whole piece, you will always struggle to recreate the senseless violence of the maids in this opening scene.