Singingscholar

LATEST ARTICLES ( 293 )

• Götterdämmerung: Fliegt Heim, Ihr Raben

  

  It's all over. Although Lepage's production has been modified, I still feel that it lets the Ring down badly in its cataclysmic conclusion. Read more

  Posted on 26 April 2012 CULTURE, THEATRE & OPERA

• Siegfried: Mut Oder Übermut

  

  Jay Hunter Morris, Deborah Voigt in Siegfried's final scene. Photo (c) Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera With inexorable momentum, Wagner's Gesamtkunstwerk rolls... Read more

  Posted on 24 April 2012 CULTURE, THEATRE & OPERA

• Il Sogno Di Scipione: Con Lieto Sembiante

  

  The Dream of Scipio (Raphael) A Roman general's allegorical dream, and portents of his future glories, might not initially strike contemporary audiences as... Read more

  Posted on 21 April 2012 CULTURE, THEATRE & OPERA

• Della Traviata Sorridi Al Desio

  

  Willy Decker's Traviata--intelligent, elegant, and brutally direct--is, to my mind, one of the most satisfying productions I've seen at the Met. Read more

  Posted on 19 April 2012 CULTURE, THEATRE & OPERA

• Die Walküre: Wunder Und Wilde Märe

  

  I know it's irresponsible to play favorites with the Ring operas, and of course nearly impossible to really choose, but I love Die Walküre a lot. Wearing flat... Read more

  Posted on 17 April 2012 CULTURE, THEATRE & OPERA

• Rheingold: Vollendet Das Ewige Werk

  

  Last Saturday evening saw the auspicious beginning of the Met's first complete Ring cycle in the Robert Lepage production. On every level (except that of the... Read more

  Posted on 15 April 2012 CULTURE, THEATRE & OPERA

• Mozart on Life and Death: Orchestra of St. Luke's at Carnegie Hall

  

  Thursday night saw the Beloved Flatmate and me at Carnegie Hall for the last in a very satisfying series of subscription concerts. Read more

  Posted on 13 April 2012 CULTURE, THEATRE & OPERA

• Patricia Racette: Diva on Detour (and Right at Home)

  

  "Would you be interested in attending a live recording session for a cabaret album Patricia Racette is doing?" is a question admitting of only one answer. Read more

  Posted on 05 April 2012 CULTURE, THEATRE & OPERA

• Manon: L'homme Est Très Observateur

  

  Manon and the male gazePhoto (c) Ken Howard/Met OperaMassenet's Manon, an opera about sex, scandal, and social status--oh, and true love--revolves around the... Read more

  Posted on 02 April 2012 CULTURE, THEATRE & OPERA

• Ich Folge Dir Gleichfalls: Johannespassion at Carnegie Hall

  I find Bach's Johannespassion irresistible under all circumstances; as well performed as it was by Les Violons du Roy, La Chapelle de Quebec, and an... Read more

  Posted on 26 March 2012 CULTURE, THEATRE & OPERA

• Man Lebt Ja Nur Ein Einzig Mal: Schmidt's Notre Dame

  

  Franz Schmidt's Notre Dame, a work of lushly romantic orchestration and extravagantly romantic sensibility, was completed in 1906, but not premiered until... Read more

  Posted on 19 March 2012 CULTURE, THEATRE & OPERA

• Ambizioso Spirto Tu Sei, Macbetto

  

  As Daniel Albright wrote in an article on Verdi's Macbeth, part of the power of Shakespeare's tragedies (and perhaps no small part) lies in their absurdity. Read more

  Posted on 16 March 2012 CULTURE, THEATRE & OPERA

• At the Statue of Venus: Talise Trevigne Looks for Love

  

  When I was asked if I'd be interested in reviewing a CD with the tantalizing title At the Statue of Venus, my response was, approximately, "Would I! Read more

  Posted on 15 March 2012 CULTURE, THEATRE & OPERA

• In Quest'occhi è l' Elisir

  

  Kwicien, Damrau, Florez. Photo (c) Sara Krulwich/NY TimesA vocally superb and theatrically accomplished cast makes the Met's current run of L'Elisir d'Amore a... Read more

  Posted on 13 March 2012 CULTURE, THEATRE & OPERA

• Va Là, Che Sei Il Grand'uom: Don Giovanni

  In the three times I've seen Michael Grandage's new Don Giovanni for the Met, I've progressed from disappointment, to frustration, to outright resentment of... Read more

  Posted on 08 March 2012 CULTURE, THEATRE & OPERA

• Missa Solemnis: BSO at Carnegie Hall

  

  For a work of its vast scope and profound subject, Beethoven's Missa Solemnis seemed surprisingly tame in Tuesday night's performance at Carnegie Hall. The... Read more

  Posted on 07 March 2012 CULTURE, THEATRE & OPERA

• Ogni Farfalla Da Uno Spillo è Trafitta

  

  I have a Really Shameful Confession, Gentle Readers: before last night, I'd never seen Madama Butterfly live. I don't know how many times I listened to... Read more

  Posted on 03 March 2012 CULTURE, THEATRE & OPERA

• Nuits D'été and Other Voyages: Joyce DiDonato/NYPhil

  

  The promise of Joyce DiDonato's "Nuits d'été" drew me to the last in this series of concerts by the New York Philharmonic; I was pleasingly surprised by the... Read more

  Posted on 29 February 2012 CULTURE, THEATRE & OPERA

• La Gente Paga: Operas and Their Audiences

  

  Parsifal and Gurnemanz (c) Pach Brothers, NYC, 1903Whether through reports on peanut-eaters at an early twentieth-century Parsifal or on bean-counters at today'... Read more

  Posted on 26 February 2012 CULTURE, THEATRE & OPERA

• È'un Fior Che Nasce e Muore: NYCO Traviata

  

  David Pomeroy (Alfredo) and Laquita Mitchell (Violetta) Photo (c) Pavel AntonovNew York City Opera, now peripatetic, but at least functioning, has started its... Read more

  Posted on 17 February 2012 CULTURE, THEATRE & OPERA