Boston Lyric Opera and Opera Philadelphia collaborate on a film of Ana Sokolović’s work, about a group of women preparing their friend for her wedding day. By Heidi Waleson Feb. 2, 2022 5:41 pm One of the most interesting creative developments resulting from the Covid-19 shutdown of live performance is the recognition that operas can work …
Author Archives: Andy Manshel
‘Rigoletto’ Review: Deco Drama
Verdi’s opera gets a new staging from Bartlett Sher that moves the action to Weimar Germany in the 1920s. By Heidi Waleson Jan. 3, 2022 4:20 pm New York Amid the Omicron-related cascade of theater, dance and concert cancellations, the Metropolitan Opera’s New Year’s Eve show— Bartlett Sher’s new production of Verdi’s “Rigoletto”—went on as planned. …
‘… (Iphigenia)’ Review: A Sacrificial Character Finds Her Voice
Wayne Shorter and Esperanza Spalding team up for an operatic retelling of Euripides’ play. By Heidi Waleson Dec. 14, 2021 5:22 pm Washington Opera is about voices and foundational myths, so what better place to give a voice to the voiceless and retell myths from alternative points of view? “… (Iphigenia),” an intriguing new opera by …
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‘Eurydice’ Review: An Ancient Tale Told Anew
The Metropolitan Opera’s staging of the work by composer Matthew Aucoin and librettist Sarah Ruhl refreshes the familiar. By Heidi Waleson Nov. 24, 2021 5:54 pm New York On Tuesday, for the second time in just two months, the Metropolitan Opera presented the New York premiere of a new opera to an enthusiastic reception. If the …
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At the Met
‘Fidelio’ Review: A Harsh Sentence
San Francisco Opera new production of Beethoven’s work, set in a detention facility, might leave some hoping for an early release. By Heidi Waleson Oct. 19, 2021 3:15 pm San Francisco Beethoven’s “Fidelio,” an Enlightenment paean to freedom and a celebration of the triumph of courage over tyranny, is regularly updated to reflect contemporary struggles. A …
Raising the Curtain on Your Computer Screen
While companies slowly return to in-person performances, online videos like ‘La Voix Humaine’ and ‘In Song’ continue to bring the opera house to your home. By Heidi Waleson Oct. 4, 2021 2:59 pm ETSAVEPRINTTEXTListen to articleLength 6 minutesQueue While live, indoor opera has returned in cities such as New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles, other …
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‘Fire Shut Up in My Bones’ Review: The Met Comes Blazing Back
Monday night’s performance, the first in 18 months, featured the Met’s first-ever opera by a Black composer: a stage adaptation of the memoir by Charles M. Blow. By Heidi Waleson Updated Sept. 29, 2021 6:58 pm New York Opening night of the Metropolitan Opera on Monday was a major event: The country’s largest opera company returned …
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‘Macbeth’ and ‘Carmen’ Reviews: Bold Voices in the Windy City
In Chicago, a production that moves Verdi’s work to the mid-19th century from medieval times and a concert of Bizet’s classic. By Heidi Waleson Sept. 22, 2021 5:25 pm Chicago Lyric Opera of Chicago opened its 2021-22 season on Friday with a new production of Verdi’s “Macbeth” in its regular theater, with full orchestra and chorus. …
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Josquin 500
My short presentation on Josquin marking the 500th aniversary of his death:
AndyManshel.nyc 