“He does not deserve forgiveness who does not give it to others.” So translates the quote from Lorenzo da Ponte’s libretto of The Marriage of Figaro, prominently displayed on the…
Month: November 2025
Where Love is a Battlefield: Handel’s Partenope at English National Opera
Has a young woman’s search for a suitable partner got any easier these days? Victorians knew all about the role of matchmakers; a century or so previous to that debutante…
The Monkey King in San Francisco
A sixteenth century Chinese epic novel has found its way to the stage of San Francisco’s War Memorial Opera House just now, namely “A Journey to the West” by Ming…
Loudoun Lyric Opera Takes Giant Leap Forward With A Cossack Beyond The Danube
Eagerly anticipated by local audiences ever since it was announced last year, Loudoun Lyric Opera’s production of Semen Hulak-Artemovsky’s comic opera A Cossack Beyond The Danube in collaboration with United…
A Walküre to Divide Opinion from Opéra Bastille
How we respond to the second instalment of Calixto Bieito’s Ring cycle at Opéra Bastille may depend on your capacity to accept boundary-pushing challenges, or how comfortable you feel with a…
University of Maryland Presents a La finta giardinera to Equal Professional Productions
Written when Mozart was only eighteen years old, it seems fitting that a university opera program should produce La finta giardinera. Perhaps unexpected, however, is the professional quality that student…
Romanian Music Shines in Recital with Bel Cantanti Opera Company and Nicolae Bretan Music Society
This month, for the first time, Bel Cantanti Opera Company and the Nicolae Bretan Music Foundation are joining forces to promote the composer’s legacy and Romanian music and culture in…
Parsifal in San Francisco
San Francisco Opera unveiled a handsome new production of Parsifal just now — new productions a fairly rare occurrence at SFO. More importantly this Parsifal continues San Francisco Opera’s music…
Shakespeare Opera Theatre Announces 11th Season 2025-26
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Shakespeare Opera Theatre launches their 11th Season with a fully staged production of Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel December 5-14th at Hudson Hall in McLean, VA. Starring Amanda Densmoor as Gretel, Natalie…
ENO’s Dead Man Walking Asks the Big Questions
“Judging others makes us blind, whereas love is illuminating”. This much-quoted line from Dietrich von Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) – a German Lutheran pastor, theologian and anti-Nazi dissident – could encapsulate the essence…