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 →

VIEWPOINTS – Exploring our humanity through speculative science: Michel van den Aa’s UPLOAD & Sam Chanse’s WHAT YOU ARE NOW

We live in rapidly changing times in which technological and scientific advances are threatening to outpace our ability to fully assess how they fundamentally alter the human experience. Recently, I … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Classical music roundup: Gustavo Dudamel connects to SCHUMANN with the NY Philharmonic & Handel’s RODELINDA returns to the Met

This past week, I paid a visit to the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera, who gave a pair of satisfying – if not necessarily transcendent – performances. As … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Huang Ruo’s BOOK OF MOUNTAIN & SEAS quietly mesmerizes, thanks largely to master puppeteer Basil Twist’s distilled artistry

This past week, composer and librettist Huang Ruo’s new opera Book of Mountains & Seas played to pack houses at St. Ann’s Warehouse (the production played its final performance yesterday). … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Memorable nights at the opera: A dark, prescient new DON CARLOS and a succinct but moving CONCERT FOR UKRAINE

Since returning to in-person performances this March (after a monthlong hiatus in February), the Metropolitan Opera’s programming has been on point. In addition to a heavenly revival of Richard Strauss’s … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Recent transcendent classical music performances: Lise Davidsen ravishes in ARIADNE AUF NAXOS and Yannick Nézet-Séguin completes his BEETHOVEN CYCLE

Over the last few weeks, I found myself in awe of the power of live classical music. In particular, I found two transcendent performances to be ones for the ages. … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Composer Ricky Ian Gordon impressively debuts a pair of new operas in quick succession: INTIMATE APPAREL & THE GARDEN OF THE FINZI-CONTINIS

In recent weeks, composer Ricky Ian Gordon pulled off quite the hat trick by impressively debuting two new operas (with different librettists and creative teams) in quick succession. Here are … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Taylor Mac’s free form jazz opera THE HANG is an ecstatic celebration of queerness and individuality

This past weekend at HERE, I caught Taylor Mac and Matt Ray’s new opera The Hang (the production was supposed to have headlined this January’s Prototype Festival, which was unfortunately … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Notable rising Russian soprano Elena Stikhina shines brightly in the iconic role of TOSCA at the Met

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to catch a performance of the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Tosca. The visit – which is likely my final trip to the Met … Continue Reading →