Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek’s adaptation of the George Saunders novel, which had its premiere this week at the Metropolitan Opera, affectingly captures the phantasmagorical spirit of its source. By Heidi Waleson Oct. 21, 2026 at 5:05 pm ET Peter Mattei (center) in ‘Lincoln in the Bardo.’ KAREN ALMOND / MET OPERA A major challenge of adaptation is to …
Continue reading “Lincoln in the Bardo’ Review: An Opera of Presidential Grief”
The Texas company’s first commissioned opera, with a score by Jorge Sosa and a libretto by John de los Santos, is a Mexican-infused take on a fairy tale. By Heidi Waleson Oct. 5, 2026 at 5:07 pm ET Victoria Vargas ERICH SCHLEGEL Austin, Texas Austin Opera, the $5 million company in the Texas state capital—much smaller than the …
Continue reading “‘Ofrenda’ Review: A Musical Meeting With Death at Austin Opera”
Quinn Kelsey and Lise Davidsen star in a potent production of Verdi’s classic. By Heidi Waleson Sept. 24, 2026 at 4:29 pm ET Lise Davidsen and Quinn Kelsey MARTY SOHL / MET OPERA New York Verdi’s “Macbeth” (1847, revised 1865) is a ferocious work, and the riveting new production by director Louisa Proske that opened the Metropolitan Opera season on Tuesday …
The company’s world-premiere production is a taut, skillful adaptation of the classic Norman Maclean novella about a stalwart Westerner and his gambling-addicted brother. By Heidi Waleson Sept. 23, 2026 at 1:29 pm ET A scene from the opera ‘A River Runs Through It.’ NILE SCOTT STUDIOS Bozeman, Mont. It’s appropriate that Opera Montana’s first commissioned work is Zach Redler’s “A …
Continue reading “‘A River Runs Through It’ Review: Singing Meets Fly-Fishing at Opera Montana”
The company stages a well-sung if theatrically uneven production of the composer’s saga of romance and a kingdom facing the might of the Roman Empire, written when he was just 14 years old. By Heidi Waleson Sept. 14, 2026 at 4:34 pm ET Lawrence Brownlee (left) and Anthony Roth Costanzo (center) DOMINIC MERCIER Philadelphia Opera Philadelphia opened its season …
Continue reading “‘Mitridate, re di Ponto’ Review: Young Mozart’s Music at Opera Philadelphia”
The opera company’s summer season featured impressive stagings of Mozart’s ‘Così fan tutte’ and Gregory Spears’s ‘Fellow Travelers,’ as well as grating versions of ‘Oklahoma’ and ‘Madama Butterfly.’ By Heidi Waleson Aug. 17, 2026 at 4:37 pm ET A scene from ‘Oklahoma.’ GLIMMERGLASS FESTIVAL 50 Cooperstown, N.Y. This year’s Glimmerglass Festival looked at America—on the occasion of …
Continue reading “2026 Glimmerglass Festival Review: Soaring Highs, Brash Lows”
The summer program features the American debut of Tobias Picker’s ‘Lili Elbe’ alongside satisfying stagings of ‘Rodelinda,’ ‘The Magic Flute,’ ‘Eugene Onegin’ and ‘Madama Butterfly.’ By Heidi Waleson Aug. 10, 2026 at 4:46 pm ET Lucia Lucas and Sylvia D’Eramo in ‘Lili Elbe.’ BRONWEN SHARP Santa Fe, N.M. Tobias Picker’s “Lili Elbe,” which is having its American premiere at …
Continue reading “Santa Fe Opera 2026 Season Review: Potent Premieres and Reliable Revivals”
At Bard SummerScape, Christian Räth directs an enigmatic staging of Richard Strauss’s myth-bending work; led by its new music director, Peter Whelan, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra brought Handel’s opera to Caramoor. By Heidi Waleson July 28, 2026 at 4:05 pm ET Hailey Clark and the company of ‘The Egyptian Helen’ at Bard. MARIA BARANOVA Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y. Richard Strauss’s “The …
Continue reading “‘The Egyptian Helen’ and ‘Tolomeo’ Review: Marital Strife and Hidden Identities”
In New York, Will Crutchfield’s company celebrated 200 years of Italian opera in America with performances of ‘Il Don Giovanni’ and ‘Il Turco in Italia’; upstate, at Caramoor, William Christie’s French ensemble and select young vocalists delivered moving renditions of two Marc-Antoine Charpentier works. By Heidi Waleson July 20, 2026 at 5:09 pm ET Kresley Figueroa …
Composed by Kevin Day, the Cincinnati Opera’s Afrofuturist world premiere is a promising opening to its commissioning initiative. By Heidi Waleson July 13, 2026 at 5:06 pm ET Brittany Olivia Logan and Terrence Chin-Loy. PHILIP GROSHONG Cincinnati Last week, Cincinnati Opera gave the world premiere of “Lalovavi,” the first entry of its Black Opera Project. Over three years, this …
Continue reading “‘Lalovavi’ Review: The Black Opera Project’s Glittery Debut”
