Handelís Rodrigo, subtitled ëVincer se stesso Ë la maggior vittoriaí (Self-conquest is the greater victory) is one of the composerís earliest operatic works, and rarely heard.
Category: Reviews
Tree-mendous in Chicago
Chicago Opera Theater scored a resounding success with its area premiere of John Adamsí newest stage piece, ìA Flowering Tree.î
Revised Amistad makes its mark
Upon its premiere at Chicagoís Lyric Opera in 1997 Anthony Davisí Amistad found little critical favor. Its undisciplined excesses led one writer to compare it to a high-school pageant.
Merry Widow at ENO
In these days of ‘concept’ productions, it is rare that the curtain goes up on the first act of an opera and it looks exactly as one might reasonably expect it to.
Masterpiece Masterfully Rendered in Toronto
I can still remember my first ever ìPelleas et Melisandeî in my first ever outing at San Francisco Opera during my first ever visit to that beautiful town.
A Berlin Sampler
A recent visit to Berlin’s three opera houses yielded decidedly, nay wildly varying outcomes.
HINDEMITH: Cardillac
Premiered in 1926, Paul Hindemithís opera Cardillac is a three-act work based on E. T. A. Hoffmannís short story Das Fr‰ulein von Scuderi.
WAGNER: Tristan und Isolde
In the 1983 production designed, staged, and directed by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, this recording of Richard Wagnerís Tristan und Isolde is a solid and well-thought performance that has much to offer.
STRAUSS: Opernszenen | Scenes of Operas.
Recorded between 1938 and 1942, the excerpts from performances of Der Rosenkavalier, Die Frau ohne Schatten, Arabella, and Daphne at the Dresden Staatsoper are all conducted by Karl Bˆhm.
Books ‘n Things
Two excellent books on opera have come to hand, providing many hours of entertaining reading. I combine notice of them with a few thoughts about composer Paul Moravecís CDs, and his forthcoming opera premiere at Santa Fe Opera in 2009.