THE HANGOVER REPORT – Company XIV’s PARIS! is one of its most riotously entertaining outings yet

I think of Company XIV shows in the same way I do of those Cirque du Soleil extravaganzas. Once you’ve seen one of them, viewings of subsequent shows start to … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The Met’s trenchant new TRISTAN AND ISOLDE takes its audiences on a pitch black journey into the unknown

Last night, I caught up with the Metropolitan Opera’s trenchant and ultimately transcendent new production of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde. The challenging new staging, by Warsaw-based director Mariusz Trelinski, has … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The Lyric Opera of Chicago presents a magisterial new production of DAS RHEINGOLD

The Lyric Opera of Chicago opened its 2016-2017 season in sensational fashion with a magisterial new production of Richard Wagner’s Das Rheingold helmed by respected British director David Pountney. The … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Zeffirelli’s LA BOHÈME trudges on, effectively, at the Met

Franco Zeffirelli’s production of La Bohème for the Metropolitan Opera has been, for 35 years, one of the iconic productions at the mighty opera company, if not all of New … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – David Lang’s adventurously staged THE LOSER opens BAM’s essential Next Wave Festival

You don’t get a lot of art that explores what it means to be mediocre. The notion is counterintuitive. Dave Malloy’s little-seen Black Wizard/Blue Wizard comes to mind, but little … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The summer remount of the rarely-performed Yiddish operetta THE GOLDEN BRIDE charms in its own old-fashioned way

Oftentimes, shows come and go before many us even know about them. This past theater season, a good example of this unfortunate reality was the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene’s revival … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Daniel Catán’s formulaic FLORENCIA EN EL AMAZONAS fails to engage the imagination

The resuscitated New York City Opera’s first season came to a timid close with last week’s brief run of Daniel Catán’s Florencia en el Amazonas. Despite the excitement that accompanied … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Washington National Opera’s sensational RING CYCLE is an instant classic

This past weekend, Washington National Opera wrapped up the third and final cycle of its superlative production of Richard Wagner’s The Ring of the Nibelung. Francesca Zambello’s landmark staging at … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Nina Stemme stuns as ELEKTRA in Patrice Chéreau’s insightful new production at the Met

My self-curated season at the Metropolitan Opera was recently brought to a smashing close by the late, great Patrice Chéreau’s deeply insightful new production of Elektra, Richard Strauss’s seething and … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – MasterVoices’ DIDO & AENEAS, starring Kelli O’Hara and Vicki Clark, is mesmerizing

Last night, I attended an inspired gala performance of Henry Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas at New York City Center, courtesy of Ted Sperling’s MasterVoices series. This brief run reunites, yet … Continue Reading →