THE HANGOVER REPORT – The Met’s musically outstanding revival of DIE MEISTERSINGER proves that there’s some appetite for durational indoor performances

I recently had a chance to catch the Metropolitan Opera’s revival of Richard Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Being Wagner’s rare foray into comedy, the opera – which is essentially … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The Met’s one-act BORIS GODUNOV, starring the great René Pape, is a striking and oddly satisfying operatic experience

Last night at the Metropolitan Opera, I attended a performance of Boris Godunov – a performance which has the distinction of being the first fully staged opera I’ve experienced in-person in … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – At BAM, the stunning opera installation SUN & SEA casts a meditative, deadpan gaze on climate change

Last night, I attended Sun & Sea, an astounding new opera production that’s bravely in the midst of a U.S. tour and is currently parked at the Brooklyn Academy of … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The Met returns to in-person performance with a powerful rendition Verdi’s REQUIEM to commemorate 9/11

This past Saturday, the Metropolitan Opera returned to in-person performance with a powerful rendition of Verdi’s Requiem to commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9/11. As you can imagine, the evening … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Opera Philadelphia’s magnificent concert production of THE DRAMA OF TOSCA meaningfully truncates Puccini’s warhorse

Last night, I ventured down to Philadelphia to attend the opening night performance of Opera Philadelphia’s concert production of The Drama of Tosca at the Mann Center. The Mann seems … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – ICONS/IDOLS: IN THE PURPLE ROOM is a scrappy but ambitious hybrid of choral drama and immersive installation

This weekend at the New Ohio Theatre, I attended Icons/Idols: In the Purple Room presented by Byzantine Choral Project, a music theater company that champions women’s voices (both cis and … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – The lieder dreamily engages contemporary existential matters in THE WANDERING & WE NEED TO TALK

This week, I encountered two fascinating productions that use the lieder (i.e., nineteenth century art songs, typically set to poetry) – or the form of the lieder – to dreamily … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Blurring the line between film and performance as they dance and sing (and lip-sync): Angélica Negrón’s THE ISLAND WE MADE and Penny Saunders’ IN ANY EVENT

As the pandemic has worn on (with an end hopefully soon in sight), I’ve increasingly seen performing arts institutions embrace filmmaking as a means to maximize engagement with audiences. Although … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Streaming Diary: The artistry of Balanchine, Beckett, and Guettel bring much-needed texture to the austere latter days of this pandemic winter

This weekend, I streamed a diverse, truly exceptional trio of works by indisputable masters from the worlds of dance theater, dramatic theater, and music theater – George Balanchine, Samuel Beckett, … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Opera companies turn to other mediums to persist the art form: SOLDIER SONGS & THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER

Apart from filming opera productions in empty auditoriums for streaming consumption (which was the case with Opéra-Comique’s buoyant recent production of Titon et l’Aurore directed by master puppeteer Basil Twist), … Continue Reading →