Benjamin Bernheim: A Masterful Journey Through French Mélodie
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French baritone Benjamin Bernheim made his West Coast debut at the Wallis in Beverly Hills, in a spellbinding recital of French art songs.
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LA Opera Revives Its Enchanting ‘Romeo and Juliet’ with a Winning Cast
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The large international cast are stylish in their French singing and idiomatic in conveying the French text despite not one singer is French…
Read MorePuccini Goes to Hollywood in L.A. Opera’s High Gloss New ‘Butterfly’
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The actions take place on a Burbank soundstage in the 1930’s,...everything appears glossy, glitzy and artfully designed, down to the Art Deco Tiffany panels that look more Hollywood than Nagasaki.
Read MoreHockney’s Fantastical ‘Turandot’ in L.A. Melts Chinese Ice with Italian Fire
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Angela Meade, the Turandot, has a powerful and vigorous soprano. The role (and the sizeable orchestra) seemed to hold no terrors for her. Her tone was firm and unwavering. Her singing was strong and unflagging.
Read MoreLA Opera's 'Traviata' has fine singing, high drama and opulent staging
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Rachel Willis-Sørensen, the Violetta, is a vivid and passionate artist, with a gleaming presence, a voice both flexible and lustrous, and strong musical and dramatic instincts.
Read MoreL.A. Opera’s Double-bill Highway 1 and Dwarf a Giant Success
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Delving deeper into the music and libretti, however, the connoisseur discovers both works are neither about the blackness nor the Jewishness of their respective subject matter.
Read MoreWagner’s Rhine Gold Shines Brightly in Disney Hall
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Frank Gehry, the hall’s architect, reconfigured the concert stage into an opera house’s orchestra pit. A platform above the pit is the actual stage where the actions take place, as well as the platform ring circling the front...
Read More'Frida and Diego' in L.A., all that glitter is not gold
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The excellent musical team did their best to work with the meager materials they’ve got. From the podium, Lina González-Granados commanded the strong feeling for individual lines.
Read More'Rodelinda' in L.A., a Baroque gem full of vocal gold
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The English Concert orchestra, featuring period strings, a theorbo, two harpsichords facing each other, two recorders and oboes (played by the same players), performed like a veritable b’rock band…
Read MoreL.A. Opera's Handsome New 'Barber' is a Cut Above Competition
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The uncut, note-perfect score of Barbiere used in this production – which I assume is the new critical edition from Pesaro – breezed through the three hours without an ounce of tedium or boredom.
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