L.A. Opera Opens New Season with a Musically Compelling ‘Don Giovanni’
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Isabel Leonard, the Donna Elvira,...gave a probing performance of the most troubled of the Don’s three female victims.
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Soprano Lise Davidsen in Santa Monica, a Big Debut in a Small Hall
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Many have compared Davidsen to her great predecessor Birgit Nilsson, but I would beg to differ and go back further in time, and compare her to another Norwegian, Kirsten Flagstad…
Read MoreIn L.A. Opera’s ‘Otello’, revisionist staging cannot dampen firestorm in the pit and voices
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In John Cox’ revisionist staging, portable heat lamps replaced campfire in “Fuoco di gioia”; a desk and chairs replaced Desdemona’s bed and pillows…
Read More'Rigoletto' in OC, one man's curse is others' delight
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The Pacific Symphony in Costa Mesa presented a concert staging of Verdi’s popular Rigoletto. The direction, by the Met’s staff director Kathleen Smith Belcher, is effective and generally faithful to the composer’s own staging instructions.
Read MoreLA Opera’s New ‘Pelleas’: A Well-Sung, Well-Lighted Play
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The director presented a dreamlike drama played by “real people” with naturalness of acting, and the musical standards were very high…
Read MoreHandel’s ‘Solomon’, LA Opera’s Mid-Season Surprise Hit
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The English Consort, joining forces with the Clarion Choir and an international lineup of soloists, performed it complete. At nearly three hours, the oratorio seemed not at all long.
Read MoreSoprano Angela Gheorghiu Returns to Santa Monica in Grand Style
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Joining Gheorghiu were her fellow compatriots pianist Alexandra Dariescu and violinist Alexandru Tomescu.
Read MoreIn LA Opera's New ‘Figaro’, the Old has Become Fashionable Again
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As LA Opera’s fourth mainstage production of the season, this all-new Marriage of Figaro is as distinguished as one could hope to see anywhere...
Read MoreLA Phil’s Tristan Project, an Immersive but Flawed Experiment
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It was Gustavo Dudamel’s first Wagnerian outing at the Disney Hall and he conducted like a pro, unleashing stunning intensity and incandescent beauty from the L.A. Phil.
Read More‘Tosca’ Returns to L.A. with a Brilliant New Cast
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Musically, this new Tosca cast is perhaps more exciting than the last. Angel Blue, singing her first Tosca in L.A., commands a fresh and bright soprano voice…
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