THE HANGOVER REPORT – New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players brings back its charming and infectiously-pitched production of H.M.S. PINAFORE

Earlier this month at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College, the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players wrapped up its holiday run of H.M.S. Pinafore. The frivolous piece takes place … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – 2022 IN REVIEW: Theater, Music, and Dance

2022 saw live performances continue to emerge from Covid’s comprehensive grasp. In no particular order, here are my thematically grouped picks for the most notable happenings in the performing arts … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Kevin Puts’s starry, much hyped opera adaptation of THE HOURS fails to mine the riches of Michael Cunningham’s novel

Last night at the Metropolitan Opera, I attended a performance of the starry, highly anticipated opera adaptation of The Hours by Kevin Puts (music) and Greg Pierce (libretto). Based on … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The Met’s grim production of PETER GRIMES returns, featuring a shattering performance by Allan Clayton in the title role

This weekend, I was able to attend the final performance of the Metropolitan Opera’s fall run of Peter Grimes. With music by British composer Benjamin Britten and libretto by Montagu … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Soprano Sondra Radvanovsky positively smolders in The Met’s new production of Cherubini’s MEDEA

Last night, I was finally able to catch up with David McVicar’s new production of Medea, which opened The Metropolitan Opera’s 2022/2023 season in late September. The staging marks the … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The Met’s handsome production of Stravinsky’s rarely-performed THE RAKE’S PROGRESS returns with a vocally sterling cast

This week, Jonathan Miller’s production of The Rake’s Progress returned to the Metropolitan Opera. Given its relatively infrequent appearance in the company’s repertory (the work was last scene at the Met … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Brett Dean’s faithful, visceral operatic adaptation of HAMLET sonically unleashes the existential depths of the Bard’s text

Last week, I was able to catch up with the New York premiere of composer Brett Dean and librettist Matthew Jocelyn’s visceral operatic adaptation of Hamlet at the Metropolitan Opera. … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Simon Stone’s busy, audaciously updated Donizetti’s LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR puts an emphasis on filmic presentation

Earlier this week, I had the chance to catch up with Simon Stone’s new production of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor for the Metropolitan Opera. Mr. Stone was fast building a … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – NYGASP’s buoyant revival of Gilbert and Sullivan’s THE PIRATES PENZANCE is the ideal show to usher in springtime

This past weekend at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College, I caught one of only a handful of performances of New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players’ production of the beloved … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Nina Stemme and Lise Davidsen overwhelm in the Met’s searing revival of Richard Strauss’s ELEKTRA

Last night, I was back at the Metropolitan Opera to catch the revival of Patrice Chéreau’s 2016 staging of Richard Strauss’s Elektra (the production was previously seen in 2013 at … Continue Reading →