A bold debut album: Brian Mulligan sings Dominick Argento

Review

Mulligan has a thrilling quality in his voice, an open-throated sound that's masculine, honest, and completely appealing; his is an exhilarating balance between constant beauty and toeing a risky edge.

Living up to its name: Experiments in Opera

Interview

"Our most successful projects are ones where we invite composers to make work in a community where everyone is being asked to respond to similar restraints of story, instrumentation, performers, etc. This way, we can create an artistic dialogue about the process, invite audiences to note the differences between each composers' styles and approaches, and engage a wider and more diverse range of singers and instrumentalists who are flexible in terms of style, genre and technique."

"How did we do?" Second Movement Presents: rough for opera #16

Review

All of the pieces were presented as works in progress, with the possibility of expansion or revision pending audience feedback. Being in this kind of environment, even as a spectator, was thrilling, with everyone in the room contributing to the creative process that goes into creating a piece of music theatre.

Playing bel canto: 4 tips for pianists

How-to

Singers know well that bel canto opera is demanding stuff. For pianists, a quick glance at the sparse, simple accompaniments in the arias by Bellini, Donizetti, and Rossini can give the false impression that the repertoire is simple. The notes may be straightforward, but there's more to the art of playing bel canto than meets the eye:

Xenophobia, Fake News, & Mental Health: Peter Grimes

Review

Warner's Grimes is far from blameless, mirroring the ambiguity around an attitude that welcomes outsiders when those outsiders pose a perceived threat. For a German audience that is still adjusting to the arrival of a million Syrian refugees in the wake of the 2015 migrant crisis and whose dark history of unfounded scapegoating still looms large, this Peter Grimes struck a resounding chord.

Cosmic grandeur and human frailty: Crossing

Review

But forgetting this ambiguous relationship for a moment: Crossing is an engaging opera, held together over its generous hour and forty-minute run time (no intermission, thank goodness!) by a cohesive score happily swollen with motivic unity. When a recording becomes available, audiophiles can look forward to listening on repeat like a Wagnerite, collecting and linking more motifs each time.

A string of Pearls from Bizet and LA Opera

Review

Dark fabric billows beneath the set, and one is never allowed to forget that the sea is the underpinning of everything that’s happening. When the inevitable storm comes, the fabric is no longer lovely and tranquil but frightening as it inflates to ever bigger and bigger "waves." Another constant device: during much of the drama in Act I, a lone fisherman bobs up and down in his boat beneath the pillars that hold up the village.

Searching for superlatives: LOC's suberb Rigoletto

Review

Here is when a reviewer typically starts reaching into his bag of superlatives, but at the risk of hyperbolizing, Kelsey's performance sets a new standard. At just 39 years old, the Ryan-Opera-Center-alumnus looked and sounded every bit the part of a father aged and disfigured by paranoia, disillusionment, and delusion.

Laughing out loud: The Barber of Seville at ENO

Review

Count Almaviva was sung by Eleazar Rodríguez, a singer who had as much energy in his stage presence as he did in his singing. He brilliantly toed the line between goofy and sincerely lovestruck, playing the character of Almaviva full of youthful optimism and romantic determination. His singing, too, was wonderful - his lovely leggiero voice handled the technical demands of Rossini with ease.

Rowley wins the night in Nashville Opera's Tosca

Review

My companion for the evening hadn't seen Tosca before (or even heard the music!), and quickly read a synopsis in advance ("I get the idea," she texted me, "Opera war Italy love murder. Papal stuff."), but a synopsis can't really prepare one for this opera, can it?