“Judging others makes us blind, whereas love is illuminating”. This much-quoted line from Dietrich von Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) – a German Lutheran pastor, theologian and anti-Nazi dissident – could encapsulate the essence…
Category: Staged Operas
A Russian Rarity Fails to Truly Cohere: Staatsoper Hamburg’s New Ruslan and Lyudmila
There are a number of instances where the overture is much better known than the entire opera. One of those is Glinka’s Ruslan and Lyudmila. Little other music by this…
Katie Mitchell’s Farewell to Opera with an Utterly Absorbing and Stimulating The Makropulos Case for The Royal Opera House
Who would want to live for 300 years? That is the question posed by Janáček’s all too rarely seen but fascinating opera The Makropulos Case: initially an open one perhaps,…
All Aboard for Glyndebourne’s The Railway Children
Dramatic intrigue and heart-warming nostalgia are perfectly matched in E. Nesbit‘s The Railway Children – the author’s enduring tale that first appeared in serialised form in 1905. Over five decades…
Cherubini’s Medea at Lyric Opera of Chicago
The Lyric Opera of Chicago opened its 2025-2026 season recently with a dramatically powerful production of Luigi Cherubini’s Medea. The opera is a co-production of Lyric Opera of Chicago, the…
The Guildhall School’s Double Billing of Smyth and Respighi
Fairy tales have always been a deep source of inspiration for the creative arts. In the German context they tie in with an age-old fascination for and involvement with the…
Delius’s Problematic Conception in The Magic Fountain Not Overcome in Wexford’s Production
The inspiration for Delius’s The Magic Fountain (1895) stems from his time in Florida, when he ran an orange plantation for his father. It was the first in a trilogy…
Opera Baltimore and OperaDelaware’s Tosca: Viva To The Diva
It’s been said that opera companies program Tosca as an “easy” way to end their season. It is, after all, an opera that focuses on only three principal characters, and…
Wexford’s Riveting Blend of Comedy and Tragedy in Handel’s Last Italian Opera
In the last three or so of his operas, Handel demonstrated a fascinating move towards mixing elements of comedy within the format of opera seria that he had worked with…
Annapolis Opera’s Don Giovanni: Vocal Performances Worthy Of A Sold-Out House
Who can resist a well-done classic? No one, apparently, as Maryland Hall was sold out for the second performance of Annapolis Opera’s Don Giovanni this past weekend. From the moment…