The Sense of Dramatic Thrust: DF Reviews La Traviata at Academy of Vocal Arts
Soprano Lydia Grindatto confirmed her promise with a charismatic, thoroughly inhabited Violetta.
Love, Loss, & What She Wore: CK Reviews Sondra Radvanovsky in Recital at Carnegie Hall
Sondra Radvanovsky eschewed the customary recital format, putting her selections in a highly personal context.
They Are The Champions: DF Covers AVA’s Giargiari Competition 2022
This is likely the best Giargiari Bel Canto competition year in my experience, evidenced in several important ways.
REVIEW: A Divided Duty: Rossini’s Otello at O22 (for Parterre Box)
In bel canto opera, virtuosic singing IS the drama. Accept that, and O22’s OTELLO pays off thrillingly.
REVIEW: As The Raven Flies — Festival O22 Begins (for Parterre Box)
In THE RAVEN, Festival O’s characteristic imagination and audacity remain front and center.
Silent Treatment: DF reviews Strauss’s Schweigsame Frau at Bard (for Parterre Box)
A lovingly restored version of Strauss’s opera reveals that sometimes cuts are for the best.
‘Big D’ Energy: David and Cameron Review Most Happy at Williamstown and Sound of Music at Glimmerglass
Two celebrated 1950s musicals get strikingly dissimilar festival productions this summer.
Grand Passion: Rigoletto at Opera Philadelphia (for Parterre Box)
The collective audience sigh of joy that greeted the opening chords signaled success from the start.
Stained Class: Lucia di Lammermoor at the Met (for Parterre Box)
The undisputed cause célèbre here — for better or worse — is director Simon Stone.
Shining Hours: Kevin Puts’ New Opera at the Philadelphia Orchestra (for Parterre Box)
Dramaturgically, The Hours is a mixed bag: I wouldn’t discard it, but I would want to fix it. But simply as an evening of gorgeous music, it’s cordon bleu.
reclining standards 