On a Saturday night, I had the pleasure to see MetroWest Opera’s production of Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel. Why do I say that I had the pleasure? Because it was good. Like sickeningly sweet with gumdrops good. MetroWest Opera was founded in 2007, and it has produced at least one opera every year since then; […]
As you likely already know (because we talk about it All The Time), earlier this month we hosted Toronto’s inaugural My Theatre Awards ceremony. The awards have been around since 2010, but this was the first party. Because it was the first party, it took a ton of planning. In the process of all said […]
Benjamin Britten’s Rape of Lucretia is a simple story of morality and virtue that is drawn out to epic proportions. While The Boston Conservatory performs each role with gusto, the opera seemed tired, expiring long before the final note. With such high quality at the school, I suspect the source material is to blame with […]
Last week, the Lowell House Opera presented the rarely-performed (and perhaps it should stay that way) opera Lakmé by Léo Delibes, directed by Roxanna Myhrym and music directed by Lidiya Yankovskaya. The Lowell House Opera bills itself as the longest continually performing opera company in New England. The opera is rough around the edges, despite […]
Opera and subtlety don’t often go well together. Opera comes from the greatest possible highs and lows of the human experience, from the glorious pain of love, murder, and suicide. So, it is stunning to see a new production of Verdi’s Rigoletto full of subtle nuance in its direction and acting, bringing out its grandiose […]
Florencia en el Amazonas is a relatively unknown opera; it’s modern, it’s Spanish, it’s artsy. However, the Boston University College of Fine Arts School of Music Opera Institute and School of Theatre (wow, that’s a mouthful!) show that the production is reminiscent and in every way equal to the classics from which composer Daniel Catán […]
So, I’ve quickly become a neophyte opera fan. I’m seeking out such productions all over Boston, and, in my quest, I found the New England Conservatory. Easily one of the most talented training schools in Boston, the Conservatory boasts a rich reputation for outstanding faculty and performers. I was mostly not disappointed when I tasted […]
I have been lucky enough to sporadically attend the opera since age 15. Some combination of school and interest in music made me gravitate toward such opportunities. And as much as I would love to say that I instantly fell in love with the genre, it took a while to build up my stamina for […]