As I write this, leaders from around the world are marching down the Champs-Élysées in Paris under a canopy of umbrellas in the rain, gathered to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the peace that ended the First World War. Across the Atlantic the night before, the Washington National Opera (WNO) presented Kevin Puts’s Pulitzer-Prize winning […]
Review: Mozart’s Figaro in Four Quartets from In Series
Mozart’s delightful Marriage of Figaro has been a perennial favorite, not only produced frequently by opera companies, but its material has been poured over, parsed, and mastered as part of any classical music training program and vocal studio. Hence, it’s understandable that The In Series might want a shot at mining this rich composer’s trove […]
Review: The Last American Hammer from UrbanArias
What an opening for an opera! After a low tremolo on the bass and some nice string section writing as violins, viola, and cello join in, suddenly on stage appears a bearded, para-military dude, as unlikely an operatic “hero” as one could imagine. You could picture him rolling into DC like thunder astride a thousand […]
Review: Why is Eartha Kitt Trying to Kill Me?: A Love Story
With Why is Eartha Kitt Trying to Kill Me?, UrbanArias has given us an operatic gem, and the talents assembled for the production have encased this most entertaining work in pure gold.
Review: The Cunning Little Vixen, opera for children at Glimmerglass Festival
For parents pondering how they might introduce their children to opera and which might be most appropriate, look no further than The Cunning Little Vixen. This curious and fanciful little opera by the Czech Leos Janacek is based on an early twentieth-century series of newspaper cartoons filled with woodsy-critter characters then compiled into what we […]
Review: In Series double bill: Soldier’s Tale and Emperor of Atlantis
The Emperor of Atlantis feels simultaneously “too soon” and “right on time”. The creative minds of In Series have devised an inventive, timely, though somewhat uneven double bill that takes on weighty subjects including the toll of war, the rise of fascism, and even the meaning of life. It’s a potent theatrical tonic for anyone […]
Review: Final thoughts on 2018 Spoleto Festival. Strong women, fake news and favorite performance
Some of the best of Spoleto comes happenstance and often spills out onto the streets. So don’t let the size of your wallet dictate whether you can take part in the joyful exuberance of the Spoleto Festival, which runs through June 10, 2018. There are plenty of free or mostly free concerts, including jazz and […]
2018 Spoleto Festival USA – Miami City Ballet is sublime and a diva dies twice
To judge the relative importance of a performing arts festival, one must ask the questions: “How are the arts furthered?” and “How are the artists being pushed?” Challenges come in all shapes and sizes. Though “classic” in form, the Miami City Ballet is a relatively young company that boasts some terrific soloists from America’s two […]
Review: The Barber of Seville from Washington National Opera
Washington, especially the State Department it seems, wants to get back its swagger (sic.) No need to look further than taking a cue from the newly landed stellar body in our midst, baritone Andrey Zhilikhovsky. From the back of the Kennedy Center’s Opera House, his Figaro launched the character’s first clarion notes in darkness under […]
Washington National Opera announces its 2018-2019 season
The partnership between Washington National Opera and The Kennedy Center continues to dominate the opera scene in Washington. But Deborah Rutter, at the helm of the entire arts complex, continues to think “out of the box,” the Kennedy Center box that is, creating new spaces, reaching out to new audiences that better represent our city’s […]
Opera Lafayette performs Erminia and La forêt enchantée (The Enchanted Forest) Review
Watching a Baroque opera delivered by Ryan Brown and Opera Lafayette can feel like a refreshing “re-set” time-travel from warp-speed to the pace of a gently-moving skiff down a lazy river. Even the opening warm up tuning the delicate classical instruments feels leisurely and quite frankly helps us return our ever-bombarded ears to the warmest […]
American Opera Initiative 2018: three new short operas
Opera has a promising future, judging by this past weekend’s plethora of riches delivered in the newly renovated Terrace Theatre at The Kennedy Center. As part of the American Opera Initiative, Washington National Opera (WNO) produced the opera Proving Up, and teamed up three pairs of young librettists with composers who were mentored in a year-long process […]