THE HANGOVER REPORT – A new holiday tradition: John Adams’ powerfully distilled EL NIÑO: NATIVITY RECONSIDERED is accessible yet revisionist

Last night at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, I attended my third Christnastime oratorio, John Adams and Peter Sellars’ El Niño: Nativity Reconsidered (you can read my joint review … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Drag infiltrates downtown theater: Sasha Velour’s THE BIG REVEAL and ONEOFUS’s SLEEPING BEAUTY

This holiday season, you’ll be able to find drag performances — with all their joy and defiance — infiltrating legitimate theater spaces, particularly those catering to downtown audiences. Read on … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Sacred music then and now: Trinity Wall Street’s soul-searching MESSIAH and an austere performance of David Lang’s THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL PASSION

On my continued pursuit to hear music in non-traditional spaces, I came across a pair of oratorios that are representative of sacred music — both then and now. These performances … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The Met’s traditional staging of Wagner’s TÄNNHAUSER returns in a musically sublime revival

Earlier this week, I caught up with the Metropolitan Opera’s current revival of Richard Wagner’s Tannhäuser. Written in 1845, the opera is a transitional work that appealingly straddles traditional grand … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Cabaret Roundup: MAMIE PARRIS sings her face of in an Andrew Lloyd Webber “Thrill Ride”, and BRANDON VICTOR DIXON gorgeously croons the night away

Over the past week or so — in between attending holiday and late fall offerings — I found myself basking in a couple of excellent cabaret acts. As always, here … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – South American Magic Realism at Lincoln Center: FLORENCIA EN EL AMAZONAS at The Met and THE GARDENS OF ANUNCIA at LCT

Before the winter doldrums set in, you’ll be able to bask in some tropical South American weather and fragrant magical realism wafting from two of the stages at Lincoln Center. … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Led by Maestro Bychkov, the NY PHILHARMONIC plays a satisfying program comprised of Strauss, Dessner, and Rachmaninoff

This week for three performances at David Geffen Hall, the New York Philharmonic welcomed conductor Semyon Bychkov to lead the orchestra in playing a program comprised of two lushly orchestral … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Anthony Davis’s fascinating X: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MALCOLM X makes its belated premiere at the Metropolitan Opera

This fall, Anthony Davis’s X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X made its long-awaited debut at the Metropolitan Opera (the production is a co-presentation with Detroit Opera, Lyric Opera … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – A contemplative theatrical fusion: WATCH NIGHT embraces opera, poetry, and dance to create a timely tapestry

Last night, I made my way to the brand new Perelman Performing Arts Center — also known simply as PAC NYC — to catch one of its inaugural commissions Watch Night. … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Susanna Mälkki leads the NY PHIL in an undaunted Ligeti Piano Concerto and a majestic “Pictures at an Exhibition”

This week at at Lincoln Center, the in-demand Finnish conductor Susanna Mälkki returned to David Geffen Hall to lead the New York Philharmonic in a fascinating and musically satisfying program. … Continue Reading →