Writing a history of an important and complex operatic repertory spanning three dynamic centuries is a daunting task, one that is perhaps better suited to several specialists than a single author. While an individual rarely possesses the scholarly breadth to write with expertise and authority on so much music, he or she can impart a unifying perspective and a consistent set of goals. But this advantage can also prove to be a limitation.
Category: Reviews
Who Said Wagner Didn’t Have a Sense of Humor?
bq. Australia forges a ‘Ring’ with confidence By Shirley Apthorp Published: November 30 2004 Where do the Valkyries meet between battles? At the Wunder Bar, of course. Schwertleite, Grimgerde and…
Pierre Jourdan Resurrects Haÿdée at Compiègne
OPéRA “Hayedée” à Compiègne Auber sort de l’oubli Jacques Doucelin [Le Figaro] [30 novembre 2004] Et de cinq ! Après Manon Lescaut, Gustave III, Le Domino noir et Les Diamants…
Opera North Presents Kurt Weill’s One Touch of Venus
On the Weill side of Venus Robert Thicknesse Opera North is reviving a “lost” work by the composer THINK of Kurt Weill and what do you get? Cigarettes, dim lights,…
Neue Zürcher Zeitung Reviews Angels in America
Eine neue Oper von Peter Eötvös in Paris uraufgeführt Peter Eötvös, der ungarische Komponist und Dirigent, heuer sechzig geworden, fühlt sich schon seit je zum Theater hingezogen. Seine Musik hat…
Another View of The Inner Voice
Fleming gives what young singers need By Sarah Bryan Miller Post-Dispatch Classical Music Critic Sunday, Nov. 28 2004 “The Inner Voice: The Making of a Singer” By Renee Fleming Published…
Don Pasquale at Covent Garden
Opera: Don Pasquale Robert Thicknesse at Covent Garden JONATHAN MILLER certainly has it in for Covent Garden. A few weeks ago he hilariously described the crowd here as “Harrods Food…
Angels in America at Theatre du Chatelet, Paris
Clipping the wings of an apocalyptic epic (Filed: 27/11/2004) Rupert Christiansen reviews Angels in America at Theatre du Chatelet, Paris There are plenty of wonderful operas taken from good plays,…
LA Opera Presents Vanessa
A fully American grand opera Los Angeles Opera stages the seldom-produced “Vanessa” By John Farrell Special to U-Entertainment Thursday, November 25, 2004 – Los Angeles Opera has been steering its…