Composer Tobias Picker and librettist Aryeh Lev Stollman have created an emotional rollercoaster of an operatic experience with Awakenings, yet another world premiere by the enterprising Opera Theatre of Saint…
Author: James Sohre
Harvey Milk : Prejudice and Pride in Saint Louis
It’s Pride Month, and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis can be justifiably “proud” of its absorbing new production of Harvey Milk, in its most recent iteration by composer Stewart Wallace…
Pacific Opera Project Iolanta: Love Is Blind
Estimable Pacific Opera Project (POP) does not always take such bold, bald chances as it has with producing the West Coast staged premiere of Tchaikovsky’s long one act, Iolanta. Far…
Cries in the High Desert
Beginning in 1957, the venerable Santa Fe Opera festival embarked on an ambitious journey that included presenting world premieres, in which series this summer’s The Lord of Cries is the…
Figaro la, Figaro qua in Santa Fe
Like the barber in another famous piece, Santa Fe Opera’s The Marriage of Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro) is frequently all over the place. There may be a number of…
Santa Fe Opera Fields a Dream Team
If ever there was a nigh perfect match of an opera with idyllic outdoor surroundings, Santa Fe Opera’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is surely the one. The opening thirty minutes…
Stirring Fellow Travelers Journeys to Des Moines
In addition to the “Big Three” Main Stage offerings in the Des Moines Metro Opera summer season, we were also indeed fortunate to experience their deeply affecting Second Stage production…
Rameau’s Platée in Indianola
A champagne cork pops at the onstage bar under a spate of piss-elegant chandeliers, the music strikes up, and Des Moines Metro Opera’s fizzy, heady Platée is off to the…
The Queen of Spades, a Winning Hand
After the long months when card playing gamblers were relegated to video poker in isolation, Des Moines Metro Opera has triumphantly bolted back to the gaming table with a riveting…
Sweeney A Palpable Hit, So Help Me Todd
The estimable American festival, Des Moines Metro Opera, ventured confidently into Stephen Sondheim territory with an enthralling new production of Sweeney Todd. The first great asset in its favor is…