Enough ink was spilled last year gushing over Valencia’s new Calatrava-designed opera house and Arts and Science park that I had been chomping at the bit for the opportunity to take in a performance there as soon as my availability and, more important, the availability of a still-very-hard-to-find ticket coincided.
Category: Reviews
Chicago stages fantastic ìFrauî — Another View
Do we too easily take Richard Strauss for granted? The question is prompted by the superlative production of ìFrau ohne Schattenî that was the highlight of the fall season at the Chicago Lyric Opera.
Jan Neckers on Recently Reissued Historicals: December 2007
This recording made half a century ago will not be anyoneís first choice unless one is a die-hard fan of one of the principal singers; neither of them belonging to the absolute top in their profession.
MOZART: Don Giovanni
The glorious universe of the Baroque has been receiving tribute from the wonderful talent of countertenor and early music guru RenÈ Jacobs for more than thirty years now.
RAVEL: Daphnis et ChloÈ
Although considered among Ravelís finest works, Daphnis et ChloÈ may be known best through excerpts, particularly the second suite that the composer derived from his score.
ìYour Queen is trumpedî: Queen of Spades by the Kirov
Watching The Queen of Spades staged by a Russian company is often an unforgettable experience.
SCHOENBERG: Gurrelieder
A 1979 recording originally released on LP in 1985, the CD reissue of this classic performance of Schoenbergís 1913 cantata Gurrelieder as part of its series entitled Originals makes this fine account of this magnificent work available to another generation of listeners.
Belfast welcomes a first-rate Messiah
If Belfast in Northern Ireland isnít a city that immediately springs to mind as a centre of musical excellence then itís not for want of talent, initiative and professionalism within its cultural community.
OONY Performs Verdi’s I Due Foscari
After the triumph of his fifth opera, Ernani, Verdi could have gone on writing howling melodramas and made a mint.
Houston puts final touches on new Heggie opera
Thereís still a hint of jest in the comparison, but itís not without reason that Jake Heggie and Terrence McNally are mentioned now and then in opera circles as ìthe Strauss and Hofmannsthal of the 21st century.î