THE HANGOVER REPORT – James Levine leads an ideal account of Mozart’s DIE ENTFÜHRUNG AUS DEM SERAIL

John Dexter’s utterly charming 1979 production of Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail returned last night to the Metropolitan Opera featuring some sublime work from Maestro James Levine and the … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Messieurs Levine and Domingo revive the Met of old in this season’s SIMON BOCCANEGRA

This past weekend, I attended the final performance of this season’s run of Simon Boccanegra at the Metropolitan Opera. In all my years of going to the opera, I had … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Back at BAM, André Campra’s rarely-performed LES FÊTES VÉNITIENNES is stunning in the hands of William Christie and Robert Carsen

Last night, I caught a rare staging of André Campra’s episodic opera-ballet Les Fêtes Vénitiennes at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The much-loved conductor William Christie and his influential early-music … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Three auteurs grab hold of New York theater and opera goers’ imaginations

Cinema has long had the concept of the auteur in its vocabulary, which is defined as “a filmmaker whose personal influence and artistic control over a movie are so great … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – All hail the queen! Sondra Radvanovksy triumphantly completes Donizetti’s bel canto triple crown

All hail the queen! This season at the Met, towering soprano Sondra Radvanovsky has accomplished a rare and truly impressive hat trick – she’s played the three queens in Donizetti’s … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The Met’s handsome new production of Puccini’s MANON LESCAUT lacks urgency

I recently had the opportunity to catch the Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Puccini’s early hit Manon Lescaut. The new staging, although handsomely directed by Sir Richard Eyre (responsible in … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – 400 hundred years after his death, Shakespeare permeates the New York performing arts season

As April 23, 2016 – the date of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death – approaches, New York finds itself in the midst of a whole lotta Shakespeare. In the … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – As an opera, Kurt Weill’s flawed and dated LOST IN THE STARS was ahead of its time

What is opera vis-à-vis musical theater? Which form is more on the cutting edge of serious music theater? Is there even a difference between them? Famed German American composer Kurt … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Orientalism at the Met: Then and Now

This winter, the Met mounted a fascinating operatic pairing: Puccini’s crowd-pleasing Turandot and Bizet’s rarely-performed The Pearl Fishers.  Despite featuring some soaring melodies (Turandot boasts that indestructible aria “Nessun dorma”; … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – An underpowered CAV/PAG disappoints at the Met

Last night, I attended a performance of the Met’s production of Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci (fondly referred to together as “Cav/Pag”). I admired David McVicar’s production of this famous operatic double bill … Continue Reading →