New York City Opera / Recenzje

The splendors of Verdi's "Otello" went on vivid display Saturday in the Baltimore Opera's new production, with soprano Aprile Millo, baritone Alexandru Agache and tenor Jon Fredric West in the leading roles. The production is visually stunning -- imaginative and stylish, with filmy black curtains, golden lions of Venice, sprawling red staircase and massive swaying harbor lanterns.

Those who long for Franco Zeffirelli’s sumptuously conservative production of Puccini’s masterpiece, which the Met replaced with the austerely modernist Luc Bondy staging in 2009, might well be cheered by the NYCO Renaissance production

Bryant Park Picnic Performances presented by Bank of America is set to present the New York City Opera’s fourth and final summer 2022 performance at Bryant Park.

The result is a work that is undeniably personal for the writer. On a musical level it is quite powerful and potent with Rosenthal having a clear pulse on dramatic pacing and invention. The opening number itself is quite haunting with Rosenthal playing up a tremendous sense of contrast between the world bustling around Erich and his own fractured psyche.

As the evening came to a close, it was emphasized that the development team is looking to bring the work abroad to be seen and experienced. “As One” is undeniably a work of great importance that should be experienced.

Acts of courage, high drama, and a turning point in history. How did we go fifty years without an opera about the Stonewall Inn? The New York City Opera remedied that omission Friday night, with the world premiere of Stonewall, Iain Bell’s and Mark Campbell’s eagerly-awaited evocation of that seismic event. The debut took place just days before the 50th anniversary of the historic confrontation between gay clubgoers and police.

Whenever a relative opera novice or occasional toe-dipper tells me how he or she cried at the end of La bohème, I want to send them to La fanciulla del West. Of course I choke up at the end of Bohème – who doesn't? – but for a good bawling session, the fabulously maudlin finale of Fanciulla is the place to be. The plot doesn't bode well. Taking place in California in 1849 during the Gold Rush, our heroine, Minnie, runs a saloon for, and teaches bible to, the miners, who adore her. She becomes enamoured of a bandit, Ramerrez (disguised as Dick Johnson), and must deflect the advances of the Sheriff, Jack Rance. At the close of Act 2, she wins Ramerrez's life in a poker game with Rance (in which she cheats), but Ramerrez is recaptured and about to be lynched until Minnie arrives, whooping like a Valkyrie, and convinces the miners et al to return the love she has always shown them by setting him free. Ramerrez and Minnie ride off into the sunset singing "Addio mia California", the miners weep, realizing they will never see her again, and Puccini leaves the orchestra silent. Audience sobbing ensues. So it's campy, but also very sophisticated orchestrally, with dips into French impressionist harmonies and moments of transparent scoring amidst the fiery situations. And there are plenty of gigantic numbers and the most strenuous, soaring vocal lines for soprano and tenor Puccini ever wrote. Despite the miners' singing "Hello, Minnie," "Whiskey" and "“Doo dah, doo dah day," which invariably evokes laughter, one gets carried away with the "great symphonic poem," as Arturo Toscanini called it, and the plight of Minnie and her "bandito di strada," ridiculously translated here as "road agent." And the poker game has to be seen and heard to be believed. The New York City Opera opened its fall season very ambitiously with four performances at the 1100 seat Rose Theater. It is a co-production with opera houses in Lucca, Cagliari and North Carolina; with luck it won't bankrupt any of them. Ivan Stefanutti's set design consists of three risers (on logs – a nice, old-westish touch), projections of mountain ranges and snow (looking oddly like screen savers) and moveable staircase, tables, and so forth. His costumes are another story, with Minnie in weird denim culottes and slightly too form-fitting bodice, Ramerrez in a too-tight vest, too-loose chaps and what looked treacherously like a codpiece. Not to mention Rance, in a huge fur coat and electric blue suit! Soprano Kristin Sampson and tenor Jonathan Burton were perfectly matched: huge, bright voices with secure high B flats, Bs and Cs (the love duet was performed without cuts, the first time I've ever encountered that other than on recordings) and decidedly unsubtle delivery, which nonetheless thrilled. Kevin Short bullied his way through Rance's music, but certainly left a grand impression. Kenneth Overton's Jake Wallace, who sings a beautiful "song" about homesickness in Act 1, whose melody returns for the grand finale, was deeply touching. The dozen smaller roles, all of them well defined by Puccini, were all well taken and with so much ensemble work, made a grand sound. James Meena, the general director of Opera Carolina, led a loud, in-your-face performance which led to aural overload, but the NYCO Orchestra and Chorus were close to brilliant in their accuracy and enthusiasm. Stylistic complaints abound (and I've only hinted at what went on with the surtitles), but when all is said and done, this new production is miles ahead in fervor and song than was presented at the Met a few years ago. So check your disbelief at the cloakroom, leave your six shooter at the door, and hie thee to the next available performance of this opera.

Beginning last Thursday, the New York City Opera staged its resurrection following a dark year, financial jeopardy and management disarray. With straitened means and only a few months to plan (George Steel, the company's general manager and artistic director, started work last February), City Opera's comeback season was pared to 30-odd performances of five operas, two this month and three in the spring. The company also hopes to get a lift from the acoustical and other improvements in its renamed David H. Koch Theater. "Don Giovanni," the season's only new production, performed on Sunday afternoon, came off the best. Director Christopher Alden's abstract, updated concept was convincing, and a good solution to some of the challenges of this piece. Paul Steinberg's set—two walls angled to create a triangular playing space—also seemed to aid vocal projection, and the strong cast made the most of it. The powerhouse cast embraced the concept with verve. Perhaps there's something to be said for engaging singers on short notice: This was a uniformly strong group, with six of the eight principals making their City Opera debuts. Keri Alkema was a rich-toned, passionate Donna Elvira and Stefania Dovhan pushed her soprano to the edge, giving Donna Anna more than a hint of madness. With his suave baritone, Daniel Okulitch made Don Giovanni both lethal and careless; Jason Hardy played Leporello as his cringing slave rather than alter ego. Gregory Turay's Don Ottavio was unusually forceful and interesting. Joélle Harvey and Kelly Markgraf made the peasant couple, Zerlina and Masetto, discover their power to resist and their own sexual connection. Bass Brian Kontes was an imposing Commendatore. Conductor Gary Thor Wedow led a vibrant performance, skillfully balancing the voices and the orchestra.

Emmanuel Chabrier has long been remembered primarily for his orchestral work “España,” but in recent years the spotlight has shifted to “L’Étoile,” his three-act gem of a comic opera. The work’s charming contours are revealed in Mark Lamos’s vibrant production, which returned to New York City Opera on Thursday evening to open the company’s spring season.