Review: Luna, Tessier and Bilgili in Stylishly Sung “Lakme” – Opera de Montreal, September 24, 2013

Delibes’ “Lakme”, one of the most popular French operatic works of the late 19th century, has experienced a revival of interest in the 21st century. An elegant, beautifully costumed co-production was created in 2006 by the Opera of Southern Australia (based in Sydney and Melbourne) and the Opera de Montreal. The production, first seen in … Read more

Review: Domingo at Helm for a Stellar “Carmen” – Los Angeles Opera, September 21, 2013

All the elements were in place for a memorable performance of Bizet’s “Carmen” – a conductor who himself was a distinguished protagonist of the opera’s lead tenor role, an international cast of major stars, and one of the world’s great productions of this most popular of French operas. The Los Angeles Opera used these incomparable … Read more

World Premiere Review: Patricia Racette’s Gritty “Dolores Claiborne” at San Francisco Opera – September 18, 2013

In a spectacularly theatrical production that demonstrated the substantial resources the San Francisco Opera invests in a world premiere work, Tobias Picker’s opera based on Stephen King’s blockbuster novel Dolores Claiborne was given a lavish first performance. [Below: Dolores Claiborne (Patricia Racette) is being questioned on suspicion of murder; edited image, based on a Cory … Read more

In Quest of Rossini and Bellini – September 2013 to February 2014

In an earlier post in the Quests and Anticipations series, I gave my arguments for considering the Italian opera composers Rossini and Bellini together, and in the posts In Quest of Rossini and Bellini – April to October 2012 and In Quest of Rossini and Bellini – January to August 2013 highlighted performances of their operas in various parts of … Read more