A new work in Washington from composer Damien Geter and librettist Jarrod Lee depicts the life and legend of the great guitarist. By Heidi Waleson Dec. 9, 2025 at 5:49 pm ET Albert R. Lee, Marvin Wayne, Anthony Ballard, Christian Simmons STORY MODE Washington At a compact 45 minutes, “The Delta King’s Blues,” given its world premiere …
Continue reading “‘The Delta King’s Blues’ Review: Robert Johnson at the Opera”
Huang Ruo and David Henry Hwang’s ‘The Monkey King’ persuasively conjured the spirit of Chinese opera; Matthew Ozawa’s new Wagner production had admirable clarity. By Heidi Waleson Nov. 19, 2025 at 4:31 pm ET Kang Wang in ‘The Monkey King.’ CORY WEAVER/SAN FRANCISCO OPERA San Francisco Huang Ruo’s “The Monkey King,” which had its world premiere at the San …
Continue reading “A Propulsive Premiere and a Thoughtful ‘Parsifal’ at San Francisco Opera”
At Lincoln Center, the American Modern Opera Company contemplates the past, present and future through strikingly different productions; at its open-air amphitheater, Little Island stages the landmark 1983 musical retelling of a Sophocles tragedy, rethinking central elements. By Heidi Waleson July 16, 2025 at 4:38 pm ET A performance of ‘Music for New Bodies’ at Lincoln …
Recent productions in Germany and the Netherlands—of classics, curiosities and contemporary works by composers ranging from Strauss to Saariaho—powerfully exemplified the scene’s risk-taking artistic ethos. By Heidi Waleson April 7, 2025 at 4:43 pm ET The company of Offenbach’s ‘Die Schöne Helena.’ PHOTO: IKO FREESE Berlin; Dresden, Germany; Amsterdam New Yorkers who visit Berlin often feel at home—the …
Continue reading “Opera in Europe: Established but Adventurous”
Three operas portray the trancelike state of love, from a world-premiere production exploring the intimate bond between John Singer Sargent and his male studio model to Debussy’s classic tragedy and Purcell’s intoxicating adaptation of Shakespeare. By Heidi Waleson July 22, 2024 at 5:27 pm ET Justin Austin and William Burden in ‘American Apollo.’ PHOTO: CORY …
John Adams’s oratorio, which draws on a diverse set of texts to tell the biblical story, receives a joyful production at the Metropolitan Opera; at NYU’s Skirball Center, Catapult Opera presented the U.S. premiere of a work by the eminent 20th-century composition teacher Nadia Boulanger. By Heidi Waleson April 25, 2024 at 7:00 pm ET Julia …
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