Michel van der Aa’s film opera imagines what it would be like to leave your body behind to have your mind preserved in the digital world. By Heidi Waleson March 24, 2022 5:52 pm ET New York Michel van der Aa’s work explores the intersection of music, film and technology. “Upload,” his haunting new film opera, …
Continue reading “‘Upload’ Review: Living Forever on the Blockchain”
The U.S. premiere of a show, delayed by Covid-19, drawn from a Chinese compilation of myths that was first transcribed in the fourth century B.C. By Heidi Waleson March 17, 2022 6:11 pm ET Brooklyn, N.Y. Over the 80 minutes of “Book of Mountains & Seas,” which had its U.S. premiere on Tuesday at St. Ann’s …
Continue reading “‘Book of Mountains & Seas’ Review: A Creative Look at Creation Myths”
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy Center and the 10th anniversary of the American Opera Initiative, monument-inspired premieres from diverse creators By Heidi Waleson March 8, 2022 6:51 pm ET Washington Operas written for special occasions have a long history—for example, the many French Baroque pieces created for coronations and weddings. “Written in Stone,” …
Continue reading “‘Written in Stone’ Review: New Operatic Works to Mark Anniversaries”
Composer Christopher Cerrone and librettist Stephanie Fleischmann offer an updated, Americanized take on the Japanese director’s ‘Rashomon.’ By Heidi Waleson Feb. 22, 2022 6:08 pm EST Pittsburgh ‘In a Grove”by composer Christopher Cerrone and librettist Stephanie Fleischmann, which had its world premiere at the Pittsburgh Opera’s Bitz Opera Factory on Saturday, is all about atmosphere. Based …
Continue reading “‘In a Grove’ Review: Kurosawa at the Opera House”
A jazz cabaret take on the final hours of Socrates’ life. By Heidi Waleson Feb. 15, 2022 5:04 pm ET New York In the face of death, why not celebrate life to the fullest? That’s the spirit of Taylor Mac’s “The Hang,” now playing at HERE. Its initial January performances were canceled along with the whole …
The operatic adaptation of Lynn Nottage’s play marries the best of its love-and-loss narrative to Ricky Ian Gordon’s musical talents in Bartlett Sher’s production. By Heidi Waleson Updated Feb. 8, 2022 8:15 pm ET New York ‘Intimate Apparel,” the touching new opera by Ricky Ian Gordon and Lynn Nottage now at Lincoln Center Theater, is a …
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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 …
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. …
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 …
Continue reading “‘… (Iphigenia)’ Review: A Sacrificial Character Finds Her Voice”
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 …
Continue reading “‘Eurydice’ Review: An Ancient Tale Told Anew”
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