Although more associated with operas that really reside in the cracks of the repertoire, Opera Rara does investigate – or reconstruct – versions of better-known opera. Their release of the…
Category: Reviews
Carmina Burana at Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago recently programmed several performances of Carl Orff’s secular cantata Carmina Burana as part of its fall roster. The soloists were Jasmine Habersham, soprano, David Portillo, tenor,…
Christmas at Wigmore Hall
‘Weihnachten – es naht die jubelvolle Zeit’ was written at the start of Wigmore Hall’s free programme: Christmas – the joyous time is approaching. Innit. And to celebrate the annual…
A Brilliant, Entertaining Merging of Two One-Act Comedies for the Donizetti Opera Festival
The two one act comic operas in this double bill were written as entirely separate works, in 1836 and 1841 respectively. But Stefania Bonfadelli pairs them brilliantly as two sides…
Agenda-Driven Les Noces de Figaro at the Palais Garnier Undermines any Humour
I sometimes wonder if directors actually like music or even the operas they agree to stage. This reboot of Netia Jones’s 2022 Les Noces de Figaro is a reminder of…
Donizetti’s Historical Epic Caterina Cornaro Has an Added Contemporary Dimension at Bergamo
Caterina Cornaro was a real figure in history, daughter of a Venetian nobleman who became Queen of Cyprus in the mid-15th century when the Republic was at the height of…
The Donizetti Opera Festival’s Temperate and Thoughtful Interpretation of Il furioso nell’isola di San Domingo
Nineteenth-century Romantic opera is notorious for its trope of the person who goes mad – usually a woman whose struggle between her own individual desires, and the expectations imposed on…
Handel and Scarlatti in Compare and Contrast Programme from Les Paladins at the Musée de l’Armée, Paris
Established in 2001, the French period instrument ensemble Les Paladins specialises in the performance and recording of rarely performed Baroque repertoire. The name derives from Rameau’s last comédie lyrique, and…
An enchanting Didon et Énée from the Château de Versailles by Opéra Royal
How often do we see a fully staged performance of Purcell’s only opera where English music and French spectacle combine to such striking effect? If a production could be termed…
Washington National Opera Delights with Classic, Opulent, Yet Efficient Marriage of Figaro
“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…