| Date and venue | Title |
|---|---|
| 3-May-2013 The Engineers Club: Grand Ballroom | Heather Johnson gives Carmen new meaning in Baltimore |
 One of my favorite things about opera in concert is the absence of director’s concept. Don’t take me wrong: I do enjoy a well-directed opera production with a concept. But let’s face it: how often does an opera artist get an opportunity to express his/her own vision of the character? Hardly ever, unless, liberated by the absence of director’s demands, the artist gives the role a bold treatment, and through it, inspires the audience to see a familiar opera at a different angle.
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| 2-May-2013 Kennedy Center: Terrace Theater | Opera Lafayette's minimalistic Actéon conquers the Kennedy Center |
 For almost two decades, Opera Lafayette has been known to DC opera fans as a period-based ensemble reviving long-forgotten gems of French Baroque and Rococo chamber opera repertoire. On Thursday night, the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater hosted Opera Lafayette’s most recent creation: its production of Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s pastorale/tragédie en musique Actéon.
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| 8-Apr-2013 Kennedy Center: Eisenhower Theater | The devotee of music: Diana Damrau in Washington DC |
 On Monday night the Eisenhower Theater at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts hosted a debut recital of internationally acclaimed German soprano Diana Damrau and her concert accompanist, French harpist Xavier de Maistre. The final concert of this season’s Celebrity Series from Washington National Opera, this event had been much anticipated by DC opera fans, especially after the soprano withdrew from her WNO 2010 gig as Ophélie in Ambroise Thomas’ Hamlet.
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| 20-Mar-2013 Kennedy Center: Concert Hall | Dmitri Hvorostovsky performs Russian art song in Washington DC |
 On Wednesday night Washington Performing Arts Society at the Kennedy Center hosted a Russian art song recital of the internationally acclaimed Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky and his longtime concert partner, Estonian pianist Ivari Ilya. As the audience’s excitement about seeing this renowned recitalist was building up, it was disappointing to see quite a few empty seats in the house.Read full review... | |
| 2-Mar-2013 Kennedy Center: Opera House | An abundantly emotional Manon Lescaut at the Kennedy Center |
 On Saturday night the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts was packed with ardent opera lovers who came to the Washington National Opera to enjoy one of Puccini’s most heartbreaking love stories, Manon Lescaut.
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| 17-Feb-2013 Shriver Hall | Anti-diva Magdalena Kožená conquers Baltimore |
 On Sunday night Shriver Hall was packed with Baltimore opera fans who had gathered to enjoy a solo recital of the internationally acclaimed opera “anti-diva” Magdalena Kožená. True to her reputation, this Czech mezzo-soprano came on stage dressed in a casual black gown, which (ignoring the dress change tradition established by her stage colleagues) she chose to wear all night long. The program that Kožená picked for her Shriver Hall debut turned out to be equally bold and untraditional.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.
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| 10-Nov-2012 Kennedy Center: Terrace Theater | Angela Meade and Bradley Moore perform at the Kennedy Center |
 On Saturday night the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater was packed with opera fans who had come to enjoy a solo recital from aspiring American soprano Angela Meade. No wonder this one-time-only performance was a complete sell-out – there was no way that DC opera fans would pass up the opportunity to sneak-preview her performance, as she is up for the title role in Bellini’s Norma later this season.
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| 2-Nov-2012 Patricia and Arthur Modell Performing Arts Center at the Lyric | Georgy Vasiliev's Rodolfo triumphs: La bohème in Baltimore |
 “Poetry and again poetry – tenderness mixed with pain; sensuality, a drama surprising and burning, and a rocketing finale.” This is composer Giacomo Puccini describing one of the world’s most famous operas, La bohème. Puccini’s opera presents both directors and opera singers with a serious artistic challenge, and La bohème calls for a lot more than attractive sets, flattering costumes and pleasant voices. To be a true success, the production of this opera requires first-tier vocalism and most convincing acting.
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| 26-Sep-2012 Kennedy Center: Opera House | Abdrazakov's Don Giovanni woos and wows Washington DC |
 On Wednesday night the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts was more crowded than a shopping mall during the holiday season. Apparently, nothing could keep DC opera lovers from getting to the Washington National Opera - not even the notorious peak hour traffic.
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| 23-Sep-2012 Kennedy Center: Opera House | Nathan Gunn rules the stage in Washington |
 When I heard that Nathan Gunn was opening Washington National Opera’s 2012-13 season Celebrity Series, I could not be more excited. Indeed, this American baritone, known in the musical world as “the opera divo”, represents everything that today’s opera fans look for in a singer: a beautiful voice, first-class acting, an appealing physique and of course, a great sense of humor.
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| 15-Sep-2012 Kennedy Center: Opera House | Sondra Radvanovsky shines in Washington National Opera's Anna Bolena |
 Ladies and gentlemen of Washington DC and the nearby lands!
If last fall you did not get a chance to journey to New York for the Met’s season-opening production of Anna Bolena – do not fret! Last Saturday the Washington National Opera opened its new season with a production of Anna Bolena (a little too bloody for a season opening if you ask me, but maybe that’s what attracts most people to opera these days).
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| 12-May-2012 Kennedy Center: Opera House | An Ever-Modern Werther Conquers Washington National Opera |
 When I heard that Washington National Opera’s upcoming production of Jules Massenet’s romantic and beautifully tragic opera Werther would be set in the 20th century, I was intrigued. Indeed, based on the famous 18th-century epistolary novel by Goethe, would the tale of a young poet ending his life due to an unrequited love look ridiculously outdated – or, on the contrary, would it acquire new meaning in a modern environment?
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| 5-May-2012 Kennedy Center: Opera House | Nabucco with Washington National Opera: A Hymn to Verdi |
 When I saw a three-tiered theater set-up on the Kennedy Center Opera House stage, consisting of boxes decorated with blue velvet, gold and exquisite paintings, I have to admit that even having seen various different stagings of Verdi’s Nabucco before, I was intrigued. Served by the internationally acclaimed stage director and set designer Thaddeus Strassberger, famous for his dynamic concepts and diverse staging style, this Washington National Opera production obviously promised surprises that I had not been prepared for.
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| 20-Apr-2012 Patricia and Arthur Modell Performing Arts Center at the Lyric | The Devil takes the lead: Faust in Baltimore |
 When, in 1859, Gounod’s Faust premiered in Paris, it got an icy cold reception. In fact, shocking as it may sound to anyone even slightly familiar with this opera’s glorious arias, breathtaking duets and melodious ensembles, it got rejected by Paris Opera on the grounds of not being sufficiently “showy”. Of course, one may only wonder what it was that the mid-1800s audience expected to see, but was not shown in the opera’s original production.
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| 9-Mar-2012 Patricia and Arthur Modell Performing Arts Center at the Lyric | Lyric Opera Baltimore's Traditional, Youthful Le Nozze di Figaro |
 In the opera world, where being true to a libretto is considered unforgivably boring, and using traditional scenery and costumes very dull, sometimes nothing is more pleasing than seeing a conservative production. Lucky for many opera connoisseurs, some directors still see a certain value in good old traditional opera staging and try to prevent its ultimate modernization by preserving the original feel of the works that they choose to stage.
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| 3-Mar-2012 Kennedy Center: Opera House | Angela Gheorghiu at the Kennedy Center |
 Ever since I saw Angela Gheorghiu in the title role of Barbara Willis Sweete’s brilliant opera film Romeo and Juliette, this soprano has been on my must-see-no-matter-what list. However, seeing Gheorghiu live is much easier said than done. A diva in every sense of the word, Gheorghiu is mostly famous for her impeccable breath control, her wide spectrum of nicknames ranging from Angela Asolutta to Draculette (the latter probably inspired by her dark Transylvanian beauty), and finally (and much to the disappointment of her fans), her frequent gig cancellations.
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| 25-Feb-2012 Kennedy Center: Opera House | Così fan tutte – e sempre! |
 I hear that both you and your friend are getting married to wealthy and pretty ladies from Washington DC?
My heartiest congratulations, gentlemen! As my early wedding gift, allow me to offer you some marriage wisdom: when your beloved betray you, remember to forgive them and keep living happily ever after.
Don’t believe in betrayal? Well, then, allow me to prove my point.
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| 2-Dec-2011 Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall | Soli Handel Gloria |
 He thought he had seen Heaven before him. He knew not whether he was in or out of his body when he wrote it. Twenty-four sleepless nights, many untouched dinners and endless tears later, his Messiah was ready to see the world. Or maybe not just yet.
True, there had been times when he was ambitious and proud. There had been times when it was all about him. Now he had learned the truth. Now he knew who it was really about.
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| 10-Nov-2011 Kennedy Center: Opera House | Lucia in Washington: The House Always Wins |
 On Thursday night the DC opera fans gathered at the Washington National Opera for the opening night of David Alden’s production of Donizetti’s timeless tale of love and horror, Lucia di Lammermoor. It soon became obvious that the production presented to us was not the most conservative one. Immersed in pitch black darkness with but a thin ray of light across the wall, the stage was anything but easy to look at. Alden’s production transported us into the house of eternal twilight – the house of the Ashtons.Read full review... | |
| 2-Oct-2011 Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall | Gutierrez plays Mozart in Baltimore |
| Several years ago I attended a glorious Baltimore Symphony Orchestra concert under the baton of a celebrity conductor. A less experienced listener at the time, I was shocked to watch him leading the orchestra in a Rossini overture with his arms folded behind his back. However, I soon became fully aware of the powerful effect that the orchestra achieved in their performance and ever since have been a firm believer, that when it comes to music making, less is always more.
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| 20-Sep-2011 Kennedy Center: Opera House | The Other Side of Tosca |
 Even though, unlike most American opera lovers, I am not a big fan of Puccini’s music, Tosca has a very special place in my heart. Set to the most heartbreaking and overwhelmingly beautiful music, this story of a classical love triangle ending in the three deaths never gets too old or too boring. Because over the years its catchy arias have earned the title of opera favorites, it comes as no surprise that we tend to have very specific and quite conservative expectations of every production of Tosca. We know exactly what we want to hear and how we want to hear it.
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| 9-Jun-2011 Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall | A Duet with Verdi |
 When death takes away everyone you ever loved, acting cool and staying amiable might not be the easiest things to do. You start having thoughts you never dared think before. You start questioning the unquestionable. Chances are you will turn into an agnostic. Giuseppe Verdi did. By age 60 he lost them all: his children, his wife, his friends… And now Manzoni, the greatest of Italian minds, whom he admired too much to dare speak in his presence, was gone too. Manzoni’s death was the last drop. Verdi had too many questions – and wanted them answered.Read full review... | |
| 17-May-2011 Kennedy Center: Opera House | Placido Domingo: A True Opera Visionary |
 Having marked his 15th anniversary as the WNO’s artistic director earlier this month, Placido Domingo makes his final appearance as the company leader in the role of Oreste in Emilio Sagi’s production of Gluck’s Iphigenie en Tauride.
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| 13-May-2011 Kennedy Center: Opera House | The Recipe of True Happiness |
 If you believe that true happiness can be found in music, I have a recipe for you to follow. Take a funny story of disguise, sham and mock marriage and set it to great music. Add a quartet of bel canto stars (a lyric tenor, a coloratura soprano, a baritone and a bass) and dress them in spectacular 17th century costumes. Add pantomime artists, masked dancers and a chorus. Place all in a commedia dell’arte ‘theater within theater’ set, painted in coral and gold.Read full review... | |
| 10-Apr-2011 Kennedy Center: Concert Hall | Rob Kapilow Gives Mozart’s Requiem a New Vision |
 A strong believer in music speaking for itself, I have always been quite skeptical about pre-concert presentations. In my opinion, play the music and let the audience enjoy it.
On Sunday afternoon I was less than excited to hear that Mozart’s Requiem presented by Washington Performing Arts Society would be previewed in a 45-minute presentation by NPR music commentator Rob Kapilow. Moreover, as I read that Mr. Kapilow was to “unravel the mystery of Mozart” by discussing the music and conducting samples from certain selections, I was almost ready to hate it. In all honesty, unraveling the mystery of a genius has to be a hard thing to do. And most importantly, why do it?
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| 12-Mar-2011 Patricia and Arthur Modell Performing Arts Center at the Lyric | Rising from the Ashes: Baltimore Opera Is Back! |
| When in 2009 Baltimore Opera Company announced bankruptcy and closed its doors indefinitely, opera lovers were devastated. Being left without opera felt like losing a dear family member. However, sad as they were, Baltimoreans never gave up hope that one day their opera would rise from the ashes and come back in its full grandeur. On Saturday night the doors of our beloved Baltimore Lyric, recently renamed Modell Performing Arts Center at the Lyric, opened for a truly historic event – the official return of Grand Opera to Baltimore! Read full review... | |
| 8-Mar-2011 Kennedy Center: Opera House | Getting Out of the Cocoon: Ana Maria Martinez Conquers the WNO |
 For over a century, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly has been one of the most famous and widely staged operas in the world. The secret of this undying popularity lies in the complex and contradictive nature of the main heroine. Audiences always look for new vocal and dramatic interpretations of the character and keep their expectations high for the leading soprano.
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| 15-Feb-2011 Kennedy Center: Concert Hall | Joyce DiDonato Performs in Kennedy Center, Washington DC |
 On February 15th, Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington DC proudly hosted a recital of the internationally acclaimed mezzo soprano Joyce DiDonato and famous pianist David Zobel. Part of this season’s Star Series, the recital presented by Washington Performing Arts Society, was given in honor of Vocal Arts 20th Anniversary.
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| 4-Dec-2010 Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall | The Vienna Boys Choir Performs at the Meyerhoff |
| Over the centuries, pure angelic voices and truly remarkable vocal technique have brought the Vienna Boys Choir international acclaim and undying popularity. Founded in Austria over five hundred years ago, the oldest boys’ choir in the world embraces both old tradition and new vision. Throughout the centuries, generations of prominent composers have continuously contributed to its formation and development. Gluck, Haydn, Mozart, Salieri, Schubert, and Bruckner are only a few of those whose voices and minds have greatly impacted the choir’s history and tradition. Read full review... | |
