| Date and venue | Title |
|---|---|
| 19-Jan-2013 Lincoln Center: Metropolitan Opera House | The Met live in HD at the Barbican: Maria Stuarda |
 It was with great curiosity that I set off for the Barbican on Saturday night. I’ve never been to see an opera in the cinema before – I don’t think I’ve even sat through a pre-recorded film of an opera for many years, as I am a great fan of the “real thing”: opera performed live on stage. And yet I was extremely keen to find out what an opera filmed live, in front of a packed audience, and broadcast around the world was like, so off I went!Read full review... | |
| 18-Nov-2012 Carnegie Hall: Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage | Joyce DiDonato's Drama Queens at Carnegie Hall: The joy of being a human |
 When on Sunday afternoon Joyce DiDonato came onstage at Carnegie Hall, the savvy New York audience gave her a truly royal reception by welcoming her with a long ovation. Such a reaction from the audience was hardly surprising. Hailed as “The Queen of Opera”, today’s most renowned mezzo-soprano and recipient of every musical award available to a vocalist, DiDonato represents everything that modern audiences expect to see in an opera singer: superb vocalism, appealing looks, impeccable taste, and above all, a genuine personality.
Read full review... | |
| 11-Nov-2012 Theater an der Wien | Joyce DiDonato's Drama Queens a hit at the Theater an der Wien |
 It was a touching moment when an overwhelmed Joyce DiDonato re-entered the stage after her fourth encore and covered her face with her hands for a few moments, not sure what to do in response to the unceasing applause. Being a jovial self-styled “Yankee Diva”, she soon found the right line to end a memorable evening with style, “let’s all go to sleep with crying and dying once more” – which meant that “Lasciami piangere” from Reinhard Keiser’s Fredegunda was going be the fifth and very last encore and a welcome repetition of her first.
Read full review... | |
| 3-Oct-2012 War Memorial Opera House | Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi in San Francisco |
 In the last few decades, Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi has flirted with standard repertory status, but it has not sufficiently won the hearts of opera-goers to warrant more than the occasional production. Though blessed with some of the composer’s finest melodies, the opera has problems for modern audiences. Firstly, the tale does not follow Shakespeare’s version of the star-cross’d lovers’ story; the protagonists are already in love when the opera begins, which means no ball, no love at first sight, no balcony scene.Read full review... | |
