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.
Soprano Lydia Grindatto confirmed her promise with a charismatic, thoroughly inhabited Violetta.
Sondra Radvanovsky eschewed the customary recital format, putting her selections in a highly personal context.
This is likely the best Giargiari Bel Canto competition year in my experience, evidenced in several important ways.
In bel canto opera, virtuosic singing IS the drama. Accept that, and O22’s OTELLO pays off thrillingly.
In THE RAVEN, Festival O’s characteristic imagination and audacity remain front and center.
A lovingly restored version of Strauss’s opera reveals that sometimes cuts are for the best.
Two celebrated 1950s musicals get strikingly dissimilar festival productions this summer.
The collective audience sigh of joy that greeted the opening chords signaled success from the start.
The undisputed cause célèbre here — for better or worse — is director Simon Stone.
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.