#curtisoperatheatre – reclining standards

Friend Me a Tenor: Lawrence Brownlee & Friends on the Opera Philadelphia Channel

Opera Philadelphia’s new channel kicks off with a virtual program that embodies their best ideals.

The Berta (mezzo-soprano Emily Damasco) runs away with the show.

As a cohesive evening of music drama, this ambitious double bill doesn’t quite add up.

Chas Rader-Shieber’s conflation was simultaneously over-conceptualized and insufficiently thought through.

The provocative show that director Emma Griffin offers here goes beyond a reimagined staging.

Without its companion pieced, Trouble in Tahiti, this difficult late work feels like half of an opera.

Despite exquisite moments, the Curtis production feels drained of emotional energy.

Richard Strauss’ funny, beautiful and moving last opera is superbly done in this co-production by Curtis Opera Theatre and Opera Philadelphia.

Every time I immerse myself in Strauss and Hofmannsthal’s Ariadne auf Naxos (and I do, often – decades ago, I even wrote […]