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 →

VIEWPOINTS – Divas of distinction: JOAQUINA KALUKANGO, MELISSA ERRICO, and KLEA BLACKHURST strut their stuff in song

This holiday weekend at various venues across the city, I had the opportunity to catch some wonderful nightclub acts from a trio of truly distinctive divas. Collectively, they proved that … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – In these tenuous times, JINKX MONSOON shined like a beacon in her captivating Carnegie Hall debut

On Valentine’s Day, I had the great opportunity to catch Jinkx Monsoon make her highly anticipated Carnegie Hall debut in front of an adoring sold out audience. For those of … 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 – The NY PHIL rushes through a wordless Ring, and Muti leads the CSO to produce Italianate heat and a glorious Tchaikovsky

Over the past week or so, I was able to take in a pair of classical music concerts that endeavored to bring heat to these frigid early days of 2025. … 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 robustly-voiced matinee idol DEREK KLENA effortlessly appeases his fans at 54 Below

Over at 54 Below, Broadway’s Derek Klena recently concluded a week of sold out performances, to which many of his adoring fans flocked (I attended his final performance on Monday). … 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 →