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14In the world of opera, few works shine as brightly and endure as enduringly as Gioachino Rossini’s comic 1816 masterpiece, The Barber of Seville. The Barbiere di Siviglia score is a marvel of musical composition. Its lively and effervescent melodies, intricate vocal lines, and rapid-fire arias are a testament to Rossini’s genius as a composer. The music is both emotionally evocative and irresistibly catchy. The opera’s plot (based on a play by Pierre Beaumarchais) is a masterclass in farce and situational comedy. The clever manipulation of mistaken identities, disguises, and clever stratagems adds layers of complexity and amusement to the storyline. The opera takes you on a rollercoaster of comedic twists and turns, keeping you engaged and entertained from start to finish.
After all the press from performances in New York, Houston and Bregenz, and massive local pre-publicity, one would have thought it difficult, if not impossible, for the Chicago premiere of Miecyzslaw Weinberg’s The Passenger to live up to the high advance expectations. Lyric Opera of Chicago is closing its 60th season with Weinberg’s long-neglected and lately much-discussed Holocaust drama, which opened at the Civic Opera House Tuesday night. And while there are reservations to be had about the opera itself, Lyric Opera has done itself proud with this show, the most significant premiere of Anthony Freud’s young tenure as general director. With a faultless large cast and striking and imaginative production, one can’t imagine Weinberg’s dark yet hopeful opera receiving stronger advocacy. Kelly Kaduce made a noteworthy Lyric bow as Marta’s doomed Russian friend, Katya, floating a heartbreaking a cappella rendering of a Russian folksong. Nina Warren brought unhinged intensity to the Old Woman driven mad in the camp. The petite Uliana Alexyuk was affecting as the young French girl Yvette who teaches her language to the pious Bronka, touchingly rendered by Liuba Sokolova. Also superb were Agnieszka Rehlas as Hannah and Ryan Center members J’nai Bridges and Julie Miller as Vlasta and Krzystina, respectfully. Wilbur Pauley doubled worthily as the ship Steward and the Elderly Passenger.
Executioners were quite busy Sunday afternoon at Lyric Opera, where various characters came to unfortunate ends. Before they succumbed, however, torrents of notes were expended on their behalf, most sung quite lusciously by soprano Sondra Radvanovsky, star of “The Three Queens.”
Soprano, Angel Blue, who created some headlines recently for dropping out of her performance in La Traviata at the Arena di Verona in Italy over a blackface controversy, is hands-down the star of the show. As the jealous but devoted titular character, Blue is a virago of emotions, astutely balancing coquettishness, rage, and even humor with impeccable timing, and of course, that sonorous voice! Tenor, Fabiano as her lover who puts himself in jeopardy by protecting his friend, and Bass-Baritone, McKinny as the diabolical (and in this version, an indisputably sexy) Scarpia, who is out to get him on the scaffold and her into bed, are not far behind. Indeed their voices, as well as that of Bass, Wei Wu (Angelotti) are breathtakingly resonant, a quality enhanced by Lohraseb’s proficient, never overwhelming conducting.
[Angel Blue as] Floria Tosca was nothing less than a triumph and the kind of singing you only dream about.
X," directed by Robert O’Hara and conducted by Kazem Abdullah, marks the final production of Detroit Opera's 2021-2022 season, one that has included several pieces that explore the Black experience or have Michigan ties. "X," which opens in Lansing where the civil rights leader spent a transformational part of his childhood, has both
Richard Jones’ production revived with warmth, elegance and added resonance
Café Momus on Christmas Eve is clearly suffering from a waiter shortage; fewer customers too, plus a shrunken crowd milling outside. Otherwise, there are fewer changes than you might expect in Dan Dooner’s Covid-conscious, socially distanced edition of Richard Jones’s 2017 production of Puccini’s masterpiece. The snow continues to drift from the heavens, and the bohemians’ Paris garret hasn’t got any warmer. More to the point for this story of sudden love, poverty and cruel death, the characters still intermingle, embrace, and, in the case of Musetta, bite. Meanwhile, down in the pit, an orchestra of 74 has been stripped down to 47, armed with Mario Parenti’s reduced orchestration. Yet despite much lighter forces, Puccini remains Puccini.
I feel especially compelled to praise Tracy Cantin as the maid Berta: so great was her finesse and projection that when I first looked closely at the program after the performance, I was stunned to read that she is still only in the Lyric’s training program (the Ryan Opera Center) – certainly a name to watch from now on!
The brilliant part of this Lyric Opera of Chicago’s streaming version of “Pagliacci” (directed by Peter McClintock, with film direction by Matt Hoffman and scenic design by Maria DeFabo Akin and Scott Wolfson) is the use of the Lyric Opera House itself as the set location.
Lyric Opera of Chicago has given us an excellent new film of Pagliacci that stirs the emotions of the viewer from the gorgeous overture conducted by Enrique Mazzola to Tonio's conclusive line. It is free to watch, too! Don't miss it.
[The premiere of Twilight: Gods] "...radiated an inventiveness that, even in a normal year, would have made it one of the most inspired American opera productions of the season."
While nothing will ever supplant the power of traditional opera performed on a stage and the fusion of colliding elements in “Twilight: Gods” can be unwieldy at times, this inventive mix of old and new is eye-opening, transporting and just plain cool. At the same time, Lyric Opera’s first in-person production since COVID-19 protocols were imposed more than a year ago is an incredibly ambitious undertaking. The sometimes moribund opera world needs jolts of innovation and originality like this, and the company and all the participants deserves big kudos for taking it on.
