THE HANGOVER REPORT – Susan Graham headlines a relatively MERRY WIDOW at the Met

Last night at the Metropolitan Opera, I caught the return of Susan Stroman’s production of Franz Lehár’s The Merry Widow. I had seen the popular operetta twice before, once with the lovely Elizabeth … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Enriching legitimate theater with classical music: FARINELLI AND THE KING and MARY SHELLEY’S FRANKENSTEIN

As a fan of live performance across genres (theater, dance, opera/classical music, cabaret, etc.), I’ve often wondered whey there hasn’t been more meaningful cross-pollination between these types of performances, apart … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – A recap of this season’s top holiday entertainments

Happy New Year, everybody! As we embark on 2018, I’d like to recap the roster of five worthwhile holiday-themed shows in New York I attended across the worlds of theater, dance, … Continue Reading →

2017 Year in Review – Opera

2017 was another interesting year in opera in New York. Even with the mediocrity on the boards of the Met and the unevenness coming from New York City Opera these days, … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The immersive COUNTING SHEEP thrusts its audiences deep into revolution

I recently had a chance to catch Counting Sheep, aptly subtitled “an immersive guerilla folk opera” at the 3LD Art & Technology Center in downtown Manhattan. The piece, created by … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Maestro Levine leads Verdi’s mighty REQUIEM, the Met’s moving (if coincidental) memorial to the great Dmitri Hvorostovsky

Last night, I attended a concert rendition of Verdi’s great Requiem at the Metropolitan Opera. The piece, Verdi’s attempt at a Catholic Mass for the Dead, is dramatic and harrowing. It often … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Massenet’s THAÏS sounds utterly lovely at the Met, in a hackneyed production

Last night, I caught a performance of the the Metropolitan Opera’s rare revival of of Jules Massenet’s Thaïs. The opera, about an Alexandrian courtesan’s flight from her “life of sin” to the … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS opens on Broadway and is mildly entertaining, at best

Last night, the hastily assembled concert Home for the Holidays limped opened on Broadway. Although the show is an altogether harmless affair, I feel the need to warn more savvy theatergoers to … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Thomas Adès’s sensational THE EXTERMINATING ANGEL takes risks, and is breathtaking (and all the more unsettling) because of them

Tonight, I caught the closing performance of Thomas Adès’s breathtaking The Exterminating Angel at the Metropolitan Opera. The opera, based on the Sartre-esque Luis Buñuel film of the same name, premiered at the Salzburg … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Thomas Dausgaard leads the Swedish forces in a magnificent performance of Beethoven’s MISSA SOLEMNIS

This past Sunday, I was lucky to attend a truly magnificent performance of Beethoven’s choral masterwork Missa Solemnis from the Swedish Chamber Orchestra and Swedish Radio Choir at David Geffen Hall. … Continue Reading →