Rossini’s Armida, New York

Armida is fabulous. That is to say, the story is a fable. Rinaldo,
the very type of Christian warrior, is torn between his duty to lead the First
Crusade and the sensual ecstasies offered by the beautiful sorceress Armida.

No Elephants — Aida at the Royal Opera House, London

It’s time Verdi got attention in Aida, not elephants.

The Power of Powder: Thomas AdËs at the Royal Opera House, London

Thomas AdËs’s Powder Her Face is back at the Linbury Studio Theatre at the Royal Opera House. It’s a classic. Once again, Joan Rodgers sings the Duchess, supported by Alan Ewing, Iain Paton and the incomparable Rebecca Bottone, all in multiple roles.

Floyd’s Susannah in Boston

Fifty-five years after its premiere, composer and creator reunite for a new
production at Boston University

Il barbiere di Siviglia, Arizona Opera

The story of Gioachino Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia (The
Barber of Seville) is based on Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais’
1775 play, Le barbier de SÈville.

Towards the light: Juilliard students present Poulenc’s Dialogues

It started with a bang and ended with a whimper. Juilliard’s
production of Francis Poulenc’s opera Dialogues des CarmÈlites
opened on Wednesday, April 21 and the performance started out strong.

Der Fliegende Holl‰nder, New York

Pick the word: soupÁon? snippet? tidbit? quark? to describe the infinitesimal bite of Wagner bestowed upon us by the Met this year — and we had to wait till the end of April, to boot!

Wagner’s Gˆtterd‰mmerung and Schreker’s Die Gezeichneten

Chaos and disorder rule at Los Angeles Opera of late, and not just in the fervid imagination of director Achim Freyer, the artistic force behind the controversial staging of Richard Wagner’s four-evening glorification of chaos and disorder.

Shadowboxer, the opera

The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland
— College Park is presenting Shadowboxer, an opera based on the
life of Joe Louis, with music composed by Frank Proto to a libretto by John
Chenault.

Shadowboxer — A Tormented Joe Louis

From the Maryland Opera Studio comes a riveting new opera that transforms
the life of American boxing legend Joe Louis (“The Brown Bomber”)
into an epic tale of human struggle, triumph, and failure.