The Sante Fe Opera’s scaled-down summer season includes one world premiere and three classics, performed and produced to varying degrees of success. By Heidi Waleson Aug. 10, 2021 4:46 pm ET Santa Fe, N.M. With its open-air theater, Santa Fe Opera had a big advantage in the return to in-person performance this summer. Still, evolving pandemic …
Author Archives: Andy Manshel
King Arthur’ Review: Round Table Love Triangle
For all its romance, Bard SummerScape’s indoor production of Ernest Chausson’s rarely performed opera resembles an action movie with an underlying message: Don’t let a girl into the boys’ club. By Heidi Waleson Updated July 27, 2021 4:21 pm ET Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y. Some American festivals moved their staged operas outdoors this summer, but Bard SummerScape mounted …
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Everest-A Graphic Novel Opera’ Review: Drawn From Life and Death
In Opera Parallèle’s remount of Joby Talbot and Gene Scheer’s fact-based opera, the story of a perilous mountain expedition is presented using sophisticated animation. By Heidi Waleson July 19, 2021 5:39 pm ET “Everest,” an opera by Joby Talbot and Gene Scheer, made a powerful impression at its Dallas Opera world premiere in 2015. A taut, absorbing …
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‘Desert In’ Review: Opera Gets the Miniseries Treatment
Boston Lyric Opera teams up with television professionals on an inventive project set in a supernatural motel. By Heidi Waleson June 2, 2021 4:37 pm ET Live opera performance with in-person audiences is gradually returning, with summer festivals putting on (mostly) outdoor productions and opera companies announcing indoor seasons for the fall. This is a happy …
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‘The Road We Came’ and ‘Greenwood Overcomes’ Reviews: Commemorating Black History and Artistry
Three virtual walking tours from On Site Opera explore Black music and history in New York; the Tulsa Opera pays tribute in song to the centennial of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre By Heidi Waleson May 5, 2021 5:39 pm ET New York In normal times, On Site Opera stages works in locations that relate to their …
Renée Fleming Warms a Chilly Night at the Shed
The soprano, with collaborators guitarist Bill Frisell, bassist Christian McBride and pianist Dan Tepfer, tried to create a jazz-club vibe at the socially distanced Hudson Yards venue with a mix of classical and popular fare. By Heidi Waleson April 22, 2021 3:49 pm ET New York There was a live, in-person performance at The Shed at …
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‘Der Freischütz’ and ‘Songs for Murdered Sisters’ Reviews: Where Relationships and Violence Meet
Carl Maria von Weber’s ‘The Marksman,’ moved to today’s corporate world; a song cycle by composer Jake Heggie and poet and novelist Margaret Atwood, performed by baritone Joshua Hopkins in response to the murder of his sister by her ex-partner. By Heidi Waleson March 3, 2021 4:45 pm ET Trying to give Carl Maria von Weber’s “Der …
‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ and ‘Fidelio’ Reviews: Operas Updated for Our Times
Boston Lyric Opera fuses Philip Glass’s 1987 work with the story of a migrant child in detention; Washington National Opera releases a graphic novel version of Beethoven’s only opera. By Heidi Waleson‘ Feb. 2, 2021 2:32 pm ET James Darrah’s new film of “The Fall of the House of Usher,” available on Boston Lyric Opera’s operabox.tv, represents …
‘Soldier Songs’ and ‘Titon et L’Aurore’ Reviews: War’s Wounds and Love’s Arrow
A dark opera explores the mind of a veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder; a pastoral comedy features earnest lovers, meddling gods and sheep puppets. By Heidi Waleson Jan. 26, 2021 2:29 pm ET Operas directed especially for film have been an intriguing artistic byproduct of the Covid-19 pandemic, opening new interpretive avenues. A case in point is …
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‘The Kaiser of Atlantis’ and ‘Mezzo Extravaganza’ Reviews: Outdoor Opera Resonates
Now available to watch online, the Atlanta Opera’s in-person performances embraced Covid-19 restrictions as a creative challenge. By Heidi Waleson Jan. 20, 2021 1:21 pm ET The Atlanta Opera has been one of the few American companies to perform live for in-person audiences during the Covid-19 pandemic. Last fall, using a custom-built, open-sided tent situated on …
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