Reviews, appreciation and analysis of all things opera
Current reviews of modern and classic operas from both large and small opera houses across the United States and Europe. Over 500 reviews since 2005.
After cancellation of the Santa Fe Opera’s 2020 season due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a four-opera 2021 session opened with Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro)”. I attended the third of its ten scheduled performances. Although the Santa Fe Opera season began on schedule, the impact of Covid-19 on its 2021 season … Read more
After an absence of 19 seasons, Tchaikovsky’s richly melodic, intensely dramatic 1879 opera “Eugene Onegin” returned to the Santa Fe Opera in a new production by Italian director Alessandro Talevi. “Onegin” is an opera in which the relationships between four major characters – Onegin, Tatyana, Lensky and Olga – can be presented in different ways. … Read more
Santa Fe Opera, in its second week of resuming performances after cancellation of its 2020 season, assayed the world premiere of John Corigliano’s and Mark Adamo’s opera “Lord of Cries”. The opera combines select characters of Euripides’ “The Bacchae” and Stoker’s “Dracula” and loosely weaves together bits of plot from each work. I attended the … Read more
This is the second of two discussions of DVDs of productions of classic American musicals performed by the San Francisco Opera, following DVD Review: Francesca Zambello, the American Musical and the San Francisco Opera, Part I: “Show Boat”. Each DVD is of a production conceived and staged by director Francesca Zambello.\ David Gockley, San Francisco Opera’s … Read more
Sarasota Opera’s 2020 winter season opened in February with a production of Puccini’s “La Boheme”, the quintessential Italian opera. I reviewed the ninth of 13 scheduled performances. Sarasota Opera’s “Boheme” was well-sung and admirably staged. Regrettably, one week after the performance, the fast-moving spread of the Covid-19 virus led the Sarasota Opera to cancel the … Read more