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”
A new production of ‘Die Frau Ohne Schatten,’ conducted by Klaus Mäkelä, proved a highlight of this year’s festival in Provence, France, in contrast to its incoherent stagings of two Mozart works. By Heidi Waleson July 8, 2026 at 5:49 pm ET A scene from ‘Die Frau Ohne Schatten.’ MONIKA RITTERSHAUS Aix-en-Provence, France The opening days of …
Continue reading “Aix Festival 2026 Review: Brilliant Strauss, Messy Mozart”
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Review: From ‘Streetcar’ to Shakespeare The highlight of the company’s season is a production of André Previn’s ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’; also being presented are Adam Guettel’s musical ‘The Light in the Piazza’ and Gounod’s ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ Sara Gartland in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire.’ ERIC WOOLSEY By Heidi Waleson June 15, …
The New York company offers a stark, taxing adaptation of the composer’s 1958 work, which centers on a woman waiting for her long-gone lover’s return. By Heidi Waleson May 18, 2026 at 4:28 pm ET Inna Dukach as Vanessa. RUSS ROWLAND Heartbeat Opera’s 100-minute adaptation of Samuel Barber’s “Vanessa”(1958) by company artistic director Jacob Ashworth, first presented last summer at …
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Gabriela Lena Frank’s work about Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera is full of luxuriant color—visual and musical—in the company’s new production. By Heidi Waleson Updated May 18, 2026 at 4:46 pm ET Isabel Leonard and Carlos Álvarez MARTY SOHL / MET OPERA New York The lavish new Metropolitan Opera production of Gabriela Lena Frank’smagical “El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego” …
Continue reading “‘El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego’ Review: Painters Reunited at the Met Opera”
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