THE HANGOVER REPORT – Opera as downtown theater: Heartbeat Opera’s intimately scaled SALOME is an in-your-face thriller

This past holiday weekend, I also had the opportunity to catch the final performance of Heartbeat Opera’s compact version of Salome. Based on Oscar Wilde’s 1891 play of the same … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – MasterVoices’ well-judged presentation of BLIND INJUSTICE powerfully makes its point

Earlier this week at the Rose Theater at Jazz Lincoln Center, I attended the first of only two performances of composer Scott Davenport Richards and librettist David Cote’s opera Blind … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Paola Prestini and Magos Herrera’s immersive processional opera PRIMERO SUEÑO is a transfixing marriage of music and setting

On Sunday night, I attended the final performance of Paola Prestini and Magos Herrera’s new opera Primero Sueño at The Met Cloisters. Essentially, the opera is presented as a fever … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – A smoldering cast led by Sondra Radvanovsky and Bryn Terfel elevate the Met’s production of TOSCA

Last night at the Metropolitan Opera, I attended the company’s final performance of the season of Puccini’s Tosca. To say it was one of the most smoldering and exciting evenings … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – PROTOTYPE 2025 Roundup: Continuing to push form and content in opera and music theater in exciting and unexpected ways

Over the years, Prototype has become an integral platform for presenting new opera and music theater, often time pushing the envelope in terms of form and content in exciting and … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The Met’s new AIDA aims to appease both traditionalists and woke audiences, to mixed results

This past weekend, I made a trip to the Metropolitan Opera to take in the company’s new production of Aida. Having glamorously premiered on New Year’s Eve, Michael Mayer’s anticipated … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – THE BEST OF 2024: Theater, Music, and Dance

With 2024 recently behind us, what better time to take stock of the year that’s just transpired to highlight the performances that have particularly distinguished themselves from the pack. Read … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Ravishing music-making permeates the Met’s triumphant revival of DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN

Any chance to catch the rarely-performed opera Die Frau ohne Schatten is an opportunity well worth taking. The fourth of the stories collaborations between composer Richard Strauss and poet/librettist Hugo … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Osvaldo Golijov’s fiery opera AINADAMAR makes its Met debut in an evocative, dreamy production

The major mounting of any contemporary opera is cause for attention — especially during this challenging period for that most extravagant of art forms — which is the reason why … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Classical music roundup: Assessing the anticipated premieres of Jeanine Tesori’s GROUNDED and Meredith Monk’s INDRA’S NET

This week, I had the chance to catch up with a pair of major premieres from two highly established and much loved female composers — Jeanine Tesori and Meredith Monk. … Continue Reading →