Category: Performances

An opera about boxer Joe Louis might seem like a futile undertaking:
according to 1930s New York Times reporter Meyer Berger, “Joe
Louis avoids meeting people, hates conversation (even fight talk) and says less
than any man in sports…”

The abiding elegance and beauty of Christopher Maltman’s baritone,
complemented by the interpretative wisdom and experience of Graham Johnson, one
of the finest vocal accompanists of recent times, made this an evening of
assured musicianship and expressive poise.

‘Come sweet death … for I am weary of the world’: thus,
the opening lines of Bach’s aria, ‘Komm S¸fler Tod’, from the
Schemelli Liederbuch, led us into the realms of the afterlife, and
encapsulated the central sentiment of this evening of songs meditating on, and
calling for, release from toilsome human cares.

‘Each action will derive new grace
From order, measure, time and place;’ (Milton, Il
Penseroso)

Had John Carpenter come up with the “beheading” of John the Baptist, it might have not been too much different from the effect we endured in the new Salome produced by the Heidelberg City Theatre.

Thoughtfully devised by Iain Burnside, this recital juxtaposed ballad with
art song, pastoral with love lyric, dark with light, mournful with carefree. An
imaginative sequence of songs, woven together according to linking themes,
confirmed that Ireland truly is a ‘land of song’.

One of the City Opera’s happiest ventures over the years has been their Handel series.

The boo’s were boisterous when director/designer Achim Freyer came on stage at the end of Gˆtterd‰mmerung in Los Angeles’ Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on April 3.

It may be possible that there is no more effervescent entertainment on stage
in London now than the tirelessly clever revival of Il Turco in
Italia now playing at the Royal Opera House.

Design is rotten in Denmark, evidently — and in every other grand
opera locale. “Palace” has come to mean “high school
basement,” or that’s what they look like. “Royal” is
synonymous with sleazy men in suits.