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”
Heartbeat Opera presents a radically stripped down and re-orchestrated version of Strauss’s classic in Brooklyn; in Manhattan, Opera Lafayette and OperaCréole staged the world-premiere production of what is thought to be the oldest existing opera by a black American. By Heidi Waleson Feb. 11, 2025 at 11:45 am ET Melina Jaharis, Patrick Cook and Jeremy Harr …
Continue reading “‘Salome’ and ‘Morgiane’ Review: Reinvention and Excavation”
Starring Angel Blue and Piotr Beczała, Michael Mayer’s new staging of Verdi’s Egyptian classic favors monumentality at nearly every turn, but it struggles to come to fiery dramatic or musical life. By Heidi Waleson Jan. 2, 2025 at 5:19 pm ET Angel Blue PHOTO: KEN HOWARD / MET OPERA New York You know you’re in trouble when a …
Continue reading “‘Aida’ Review: Glum Grandeur at the Metropolitan Opera”
Lucy Shelton plays a renowned singer with dementia in Laura Kaminsky’s chamber piece at On Site Opera; Lise Davidsen stars in Puccini’s melodrama at the Met. By Heidi Waleson Nov. 18, 2024 at 5:07 pm ET Lucy Shelton in ‘Lucidity.’ PHOTO: DAN WRIGHT New York Like “As One” (2014), her much-performed first opera, Laura Kaminsky’s “Lucidity,” given its world …
Continue reading “‘Lucidity’ and ‘Tosca’ Review: Sopranos of Two Generations”
At the Metropolitan Opera, Jeanine Tesori’s work about an American drone pilot proves eerie and emotionally resonant; Meredith Monk’s performance piece at Park Avenue Armory takes inspiration from Asian religions to affirm our interconnectedness. By Heidi Waleson Oct. 7, 2024 at 5:21 pm ET Emily D’Angelo (center) and company in ‘Grounded.’ PHOTO: KEN HOWARD / MET OPERA …
Continue reading “‘Grounded’ and ‘Indra’s Net’ Reviews: Modern War and Ancient Legend”
An American opera director reveals how to inject new life into an old-fashioned artform. By Heidi Waleson Sept. 13, 2024 at 11:27 am ET A scene from Yuval Sharon’s staging of Mozart’s ‘The Magic Flute’ at the Berlin State Opera in 2019. PHOTO: MONICA RITTERSHAUS Opera is perceived as the most traditional of the performing arts—its repertory …
Continue reading “‘A New Philosophy of Opera’ Review: Curtain Calls”
At Bard SummerScape and Lincoln Center, three operas depict fiery conflicts and family feuds, from a Reformation-era religious rebellion to a timeless tale of ill-fated lovers. By Heidi Waleson July 30, 2024 at 4:58 pm ET Jennifer Feinstein and Robert Watson in ‘Le Prophète.’ PHOTO: ANDY HENDERSON Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y. This season’s opera rarity at Bard SummerScape is Giacomo …
The Opera Theatre of Saint Louis presents a 2002 chamber work by Philip Glass, along with trimmed and translated Handel and Puccini stagings with a modern feel. By Heidi Waleson June 24, 2024 at 5:19 pm ET Vanessa Becerra and Sean Michael Plumb in ‘Galileo.’ PHOTO: ERIC WOOLSEY Webster Groves, Mo. Opera Theatre of Saint Louis makes …
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