VIEWPOINTS – PROTOTYPE 2018, one of the festival’s finest outings, was an eclectic exploration of the possibilities of opera

This past weekend marked the closing of this year’s PROTOTYPE, an annual two-week festival curated to celebrate and showcase the cutting edge in opera and music theater. In just its … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The Met’s revival of David McVicar’s Goya-inspired IL TROVATORE is fiercely sung and acted

When performed by the right cast with sufficient theatrical intensity, Sir David McVicar’s 2009 production of Verdi’s Il Trovatore has the potential to be one of the more compelling of the Metropolitan Opera’s … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The Met’s run of LE NOZZE DI FIGARO closes with an ideal cast

Last night, I caught this season’s closing performance of the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Le Nozze di Figaro. When done right, Mozart’s deservedly much-loved opera can be a transcendent experience, both musically and dramatically. … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The Met’s traditional new TOSCA excels in its casting

Tonight, I caught the highly anticipated but much-maligned (it lost two conductors and its three principals!) new staging of Puccini’s Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera. The production, which replaces Luc Bondy’s controversial version, is … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Susan Graham headlines a relatively MERRY WIDOW at the Met

Last night at the Metropolitan Opera, I caught the return of Susan Stroman’s production of Franz Lehár’s The Merry Widow. I had seen the popular operetta twice before, once with the lovely Elizabeth … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Enriching legitimate theater with classical music: FARINELLI AND THE KING and MARY SHELLEY’S FRANKENSTEIN

As a fan of live performance across genres (theater, dance, opera/classical music, cabaret, etc.), I’ve often wondered whey there hasn’t been more meaningful cross-pollination between these types of performances, apart … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – A recap of this season’s top holiday entertainments

Happy New Year, everybody! As we embark on 2018, I’d like to recap the roster of five worthwhile holiday-themed shows in New York I attended across the worlds of theater, dance, … Continue Reading →

2017 Year in Review – Opera

2017 was another interesting year in opera in New York. Even with the mediocrity on the boards of the Met and the unevenness coming from New York City Opera these days, … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The immersive COUNTING SHEEP thrusts its audiences deep into revolution

I recently had a chance to catch Counting Sheep, aptly subtitled “an immersive guerilla folk opera” at the 3LD Art & Technology Center in downtown Manhattan. The piece, created by … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Maestro Levine leads Verdi’s mighty REQUIEM, the Met’s moving (if coincidental) memorial to the great Dmitri Hvorostovsky

Last night, I attended a concert rendition of Verdi’s great Requiem at the Metropolitan Opera. The piece, Verdi’s attempt at a Catholic Mass for the Dead, is dramatic and harrowing. It often … Continue Reading →