| Date and venue | Title |
|---|---|
| 14-Feb-2013 Staatsoper | Nostalgia for the Italian Fifties: The Vienna Staatsoper's La Cenerentola |
 What has made Rossini and his librettist Jacopo Ferretti’s take on Cinderella survive on the opera stage for almost 200 years now is not only the universal archetype of the downtrodden girl who is redeemed by Prince Charming, nor its enchanting music: the absence of fairy-tale symbols like the pumpkin carriage and the glass shoe (barefoot ladies would have been too outrageous a sight on an Italian stage of the time) has perhaps also helped to make it timeless, practical to stage, and largely director-proof.
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| 25-Nov-2012 Civic Opera House | Don Pasquale sparkles at the Lyric Opera of Chicago |
 The human race craves comic relief... a universally accepted fact throughout the entire history of mankind. Comic books, sitcoms, comic theater... all seek to blissfully whisk us out of the doldrums and politics of today’s ever-busy society. Although opera is often stereotyped as completely tragic, stuffy, and elitist fare, it too contains countless comic gems, including Gaetano Donizetti’s perennial favorite Don Pasquale.Read full review... | |
| 22-Sep-2012 Dorothy Chandler Pavilion | LA Opera's Don Giovanni showcases some impressive singing but falls short |
| What makes for a good performance of Don Giovanni? Some have called it the greatest drama in opera, and with music by Mozart at the height of his compositional powers, its status as a masterpiece of Classical music is undisputed. Los Angeles Opera’s opening night production had elements both outstanding and troubled. Some distinguished singing proved to be among the highlights, but a trivial production never really came together for an exceptional evening.
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| 11-Feb-2012 Royal Opera House, Covent Garden | Figaro's wedding makes perfect comedy |
 There's no such thing as a perfect comic opera, and I know it's wrong to describe any work of art as perfect. But seeing Mozart and da Ponte's Le Nozze di Figaro last night, I found this a difficult principle to accept: this opera is about as close as you can get.
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