VIEWPOINTS – Nights at the opera: The Met’s holiday presentation of CINDERELLA and a new RIGOLETTO

Astonishingly, since re-opening this fall, the Metropolitan Opera hasn’t yet had to cancel a performance. This week on consecutive nights, I found myself at the Met relishing a pair of … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – THE BEST OF 2021: Theater, Music, and Dance

With 2021 behind us, the time has come to look back and recognize the best of the year’s performing arts offerings. No matter how you look at it, assessing performance … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Classical music roundup: Maestro Nézet-Séguin leads the Met and Philly forces in Aucoin’s “Eurydice” and a pair of Beethoven symphonies, respectively

I suspect that no other conductor has been busier nor more engaged in the pulse of New York’s classical music scene than the beloved maestro of the moment, Yannick Nézet-Séguin. … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – JESSICA VOSK’s eager Carnegie Hall debut was a delirious love-fest

Last Monday, Broadway musical singer/actress Jessica Vosk made her highly anticipated Carnegie Hall debut to an enthusiastic sold out house. Ms. Vosk has taken a circuitous route to stardom, have … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The Met’s musically outstanding revival of DIE MEISTERSINGER proves that there’s some appetite for durational indoor performances

I recently had a chance to catch the Metropolitan Opera’s revival of Richard Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Being Wagner’s rare foray into comedy, the opera – which is essentially … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The iconic JUSTIN VIVIAN BOND, with vivacious openers The Illustrious Blacks, reopen Joe’s Pub

This week, Joe’s Pub reopened its doors at the Public Theater with a weeklong run of Justin Vivian Bond’s latest cabaret act Storming the Glamparts, which I attended last night. … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The Met’s one-act BORIS GODUNOV, starring the great René Pape, is a striking and oddly satisfying operatic experience

Last night at the Metropolitan Opera, I attended a performance of Boris Godunov – a performance which has the distinction of being the first fully staged opera I’ve experienced in-person in … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Experimenting with and transcending form(s): ASUNA’S 100 KEYBOADS at BAM and HOLDTIGHT’s WHAT KEEPS YOU GOING? at the cell

This past week, I attended two performances that experimented with and transcended form(s). Here are my thoughts on these interesting outings. 100 KEYBOARDSASUNA / Brooklyn Academy of MusicThrough October 2 … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – An orchestra in transition: The New York Philharmonic returns to indoor, in-person performance in excellent form

This weekend at Alice Tully Hall, the New York Philharmonic kicked off its new season, re-commencing indoor, in-person performances after largely staying dormant over the course of the lockdown. Aside … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – At BAM, the stunning opera installation SUN & SEA casts a meditative, deadpan gaze on climate change

Last night, I attended Sun & Sea, an astounding new opera production that’s bravely in the midst of a U.S. tour and is currently parked at the Brooklyn Academy of … Continue Reading →