My visit to two rarely mounted pieces at the Opera Festival of St. Louis brought to mind the little girl with the curl, for when it was good, it was very very good and when it was bad, it was, um. . .er. . .
Category: Reviews
Don Carlo at Royal Opera House
In the latter part of last year, the casting for Nicholas Hytnerís new production of Don Carlo ó in the five-act Italian version ó looked to be on shaky ground.
Don Giovanni. No, the other one
No one has ever called Gazzanigaís Don Giovanni an overlooked masterpiece.
MEYERBEER: Semiramide
This Dynamic recording of Meyerbeer’s Semiramide, an opera title more familiar with Rossini’s name appended, mixes the pleasure of a modestly appealing surprise with regret at key aspects of the performance.
A rare treasure in Saint Louis. . .
Pink flamingos, sheep on wheels, and a queen crowned with giant antlers all inhabit the zany world of Opera Theatre of Saint Louisís Una cosa rara, where the artificial 18th century pastoral commingles with cutesy country colors and 1950s yard art.
Choral Music by Dvo?·k and Brahms
Among the choral music of Anton [Antonin] Dvorak, the familiar Stabat Mater, Op. 58, is known to modern audiences through various live performances and recordings.
Mozart and Lortzing from Hamburg Opera on film
A nostalgic charm permeates these filmed productions from the early 1970s of Lortzing’s Zar und Zimmerman and Mozart’s Die Zauberflˆte, collaborations between the Hamburg State Opera and German TV director Joachim Hess.
Karajan opera highlights on Classics for Pleasure
The opera highlights series from Classics for Pleasure continues its recycling of the EMI catalogue with selections from two of Herbert von Karajan’s recordings.
Pl·cido Domingoís miraculous autumn
On the barren stage: a few chairs, a dark-gold hectoplasm projected on the wood panels of the acoustic chamber – nothing more.