Upon arriving at the Zack Box Theatre at The Boston Conservatory, we were told that the house would not be opening until about 5 minutes prior to the performance time. When the doors finally did open, we were asked to remove our shoes, place them on a shoe rack, and only then enter the performance […]
It’s with Jules Massenet’s gorgeous setting of the classic story of an “errant knight” that The Canadian Opera Company closes out a truly exemplary season. This was the season when I finally learned to love The COC, when I finally felt like I had a favourite opera composer (Donizetti) and a favourite soprano (Adrianne Pieczonka), […]
Out from the looming shadow of Peter Sellars’ agonizing Hercules, The Canadian Opera Company is crawling back to the light as they close in on the end of their generally strong 2013/14 season. Said light is shone by thoughtful director Stephen Lawless onto Donizetti’s emotionally mature and structurally sound opera about the great and confounding […]
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 […]