| Date and venue | Title |
|---|---|
| 9-Feb-2013 Het Muziektheater | The Netherlands Opera's daunting William Tell shines light on its massive talents |
 The Netherlands Opera’s production of William Tell, directed by Pierre Audi, has proved a daunting endeavor, captivating the audience through its colorful treatment of Rossini’s final opera. From the cast of characters on stage and the musicians of the orchestra to the sound, lighting, stage and costume departments, the roughly four-and-a-half-hour event couldn’t have been more stimulating.
Read full review... | |
| 16-Nov-2012 War Memorial Opera House | Patricia Racette is remarkable as Tosca in San Francisco |
 Continuing the experiment from the opening of the season, San Francisco Opera’s current run of Tosca has several performances occurring on consecutive days or in close proximity, necessitating two different casts. The Thursday opening made headlines when the leading lady was felled by illness and a new talent, Melody Moore, made her mark in storybook fashion. I attended the second night, when a cast anchored by Puccini heroine extraordinaire Patricia Racette made a persuasive case that this was the Tosca cast to see.Read full review... | |
| 22-Oct-2011 Civic Opera House | A Dark and Stormy Night at the Lyric Opera of Chicago |
 "It was a dark and stormy night …." Chuckling whenever I hear these lines, I can see Charles Schultz’s beloved Snoopy staring intensely at his typewriter, vigorously typing away what he would consider his magnum opus novel. Not surprisingly, in countless titanic masterworks of literature and music, the foreboding stormy night setting serves as a metaphor and eloquent dropback for a stormy situation within the drama of the story. Such is the case with Gaetano Donzietti’s epic magnum opus, Lucia di Lammermoor.Read full review... | |
| 16-Mar-2011 Citi Performing Arts Center, Shubert Theater | Agrippina at Boston Lyric Opera |
 By all rights, Agrippina should be a tragedy. It begins with news of Claudius' death and ends with a roll call of doom, with political intrigue, power struggles, infidelity and dysfunction filling in the blanks. The Roman Empire is rife with opera fodder, and operas are rife with tales of Greek gods and Roman heroes (and anti-heroes). Characters behaving badly make for an irresistible story line, and when it's based on history, all the better. Handel's Agrippina is full of these characters, each with his or her own weakness.Read full review... | |
