VIEWPOINTS – For its new productions of Handel’s AGRIPPINA & Wagner’s DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER, the Met turns to a pair of tried-and-true directors

Over the last few weeks, the Metropolitan Opera unveiled two new productions. I’m happy to report that both are noteworthy and thought-provoking efforts, the result of two brilliant directors tastefully … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Iván Fischer and his BUDAPEST FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA triumph yet again in their exploration of Dvořák and Mahler

This past Sunday and Monday at David Geffen Hall, as part of Lincoln Center’s Great Performers series, I had the great privilege of experiencing the celebrated Budapest Festival Orchestra perform … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Jaap van Zweden leads his NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC in an eclectic, disorienting program featuring Renée Fleming

Last night, I attended a performance by the New York Philharmonic at David Geffen Hall. The concert was conducted by the orchestra’s music director, maestro Jaap van Zweden, who gamely … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker, Jean-Guihen Queyras, and Rosas ravish in the distilled MITTEN WIR IM LEBEN SIND

To coincide with this week’s opening of the controversial Broadway revival of West Side Story, the iconic Belgian choreographer Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker this weekend at NYU Skirball presented, for … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – A propulsive LA TRAVIATA at the Met, led by a vocally resplendent Aleksandra Kurzak

I recently had a chance to revisit Michael Mayer’s production of Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata at the Metropolitan Opera. Upon reassessment, I remain lukewarm to the year-old production and still do miss Willy … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The New York Philharmonic responds radiantly to Simone Young, who conducts Britten, Elgar, and Dean

This week saw Simone Young return to lead the New York Philharmonic for the first time in more than two decades. The talented Australian conductor, who was recently named Music … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The Met’s inadvertent concert presentation of Berlioz’s LA DAMNATION DE FAUST proves sonically glorious

This past weekend, I attended the opening performance of the Metropolitan Opera’s inadvertent concert presentation of Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust. I say inadvertent because the opera company had originally planned to … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – PROTOTYPE 2020 finds the new opera festival as adventurous and vital as ever

One of the highlights of the frigid winter months in New York is the opportunity to bask in Prototype, the vital annual festival celebrating new opera and music theater. This year’s edition … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Gustavo Dudamel triumphantly leads the NY PHILHARMONIC after an absence of more than a decade

This past week at the David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center, Gustavo Dudamel returned to conduct the New York Philharmonic after an absence of more than a decade. As if to compensate … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – UNDER THE RADAR: Reviews, Batch 2

Happily, my week proceeded with continued Under the Radar immersion. Here is my second batch of reviews. NOT I Touretteshero & Battersea Arts Centre (U.K.) On paper, staging Samuel Beckett’s Not I … Continue Reading →