On Wednesday August 7, Santa Fe Opera presented an energetic, fun-loving production of Jacques Offenbach, Henri Meilhac and Ludovic HalÈvy’s The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein.
Category: Performances
Santa Fe Opera Revives The Marriage of Figaro
On Thursday, August 8, Santa Fe Opera revived the Bruce Donnell production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro.
Prom 45: Tiippett’s The Midsummer Marriage
Sir Michael Tippett’s The Midsummer Marriage has a lot of things against it, it requires a large cast including dancers and a large chorus and orchestra, the plot with its elements of Jungian analysis is confusing, the composer’s libretto with its colloquial elements now sounds rather dated and frankly a bit embarrassing.
La Donna del Lago at Santa Fe
Based on Sir Walter Scott’s narrative poem “The Lady of the Lake,” the opera by Rossini and librettist Andrea Leone Tottola was first seen in 1819 at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples.
Billy Budd at Glyndebourne
In their magnificent Glyndebourne production of Billy Budd, first seen in 2010 and revived here to mark Britten’s centenary anniversary, director Michael Grandage (revival director, Ian Rutherford) and designer Christopher Oram immerse us, quite literally, in the harsh realities of life aboard a late-eighteen-century man-’o-war: the uncompromisingly, and perhaps optimistically, named Indomitable.
Oscar: A Viable New Opera
Oscar Wilde wrote: “We are each our own devil, and we make this world our hell.” On July 27, 2013, Theodore Morrison’s opera Oscar had its world premiere at Santa Fe.
Glimmerglass: Major League Move
“World-class” is an encomium often used indiscriminately by promoters and publicists but in light of Glimmerglass Festival’s triumphant Der Fliegende Holl‰nder the press office has my full encouragement to use the phrase loud and often.
Un ballo in maschera at Orange
A massive antique Roman theater where stadium opera is always grand opera and often good opera as well.
A Very Real Traviata
Conductor Leo Hussein, like many of the artists in the production, was making his debut. His take on the story was immediately ascertainable when he played parts of the overture with an earthy tone. This was Violetta’s world, where otherwise refined men wined, dined, and cavorted with the most expensive Parisian courtesans.
Coleridge Taylor: The Song of Hiawatha, Three Choirs Festival
The Song of Hiawatha, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor at Gloucester Cathedral, highlight of this year’s Three Choirs Festival.