Opera

Opera CD Review: A Compact, Powerful New Opera from Carlisle Floyd, Composer of “Susannah”

May 24, 2020
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Prince of Players is based on a play that also yielded the movie Stage Beauty, and it’s one of the best new operas to come along in years.

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Opera CD Review: Gunther Schuller’s Splendid 1970 Children’s Opera Gets Its World-Premiere Recording

May 17, 2020
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A Grimm, but not grim, opera about a Fisherman, his Wife, their Cat, and a wish-granting Flounder.

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Opera CD Review: A Tenor as a Villain? Donizetti’s Unusual Two-Tenor Opera Gets a First — and Fine — Recording

April 1, 2020
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An 1829 opera about Elizabeth I and her supposed lover — enlivened by underhanded threats, virtuous resistance, remorse, and an attempted poisoning — proves well worth reviving.

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Opera Album Review: Rossini’s Pre-fab Opera, “Eduardo e Cristina,” Turns Out to Be First-Rate

March 19, 2020
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The practice of re-using large chunks of an opera for a new plot and new words may sound implausible to us, but in Rossini’s hands the result is delightful and surprisingly coherent.

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Opera Review: Beethoven’s “Leonore” — Upcoming Performances in New York City

February 27, 2020
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Music lovers should seize this rare opportunity to see Beethoven’s first (1805) version of Fidelio, complete with a reconstruction of Florestan’s original aria.

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Opera Album Review: The Most Neglected Master of Opera? Carl Maria von Weber, Early and Late

February 13, 2020
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New recordings of Peter Schmoll and His Neighbors and of Euryanthe pose an embarrassing question: why is the opera repertory so narrow?

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Opera Album Review, Oscar Wilde, Part 3 — A Spiffy “The Importance of Being Earnest”

February 7, 2020
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Odyssey Opera revels in the glittering wit and touching moments of this full-length chamber opera by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, better known for his Hollywood film scores and some wonderful guitar pieces.

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Concert Review: Odyssey Opera’s “The Chronicle of Nine”

February 4, 2020
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Arnold Rosner’s writing in each act is strongly contrapuntal, metrically unpredictable, and idiomatically scored. The music is marked by constantly shifting colors, a strong sense of rhythm, and a healthy dose of lyricism.

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Opera Album Review: Oscar Wilde in the Opera House, Part 2 — Richard Flury’s Approachable “A Florentine Tragedy”

January 22, 2020
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Another operatic version of Oscar Wilde’s one-act love triangle that ends with the woman’s husband murdering her lover, to her enraptured delight.

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Opera Album Review: Oscar Wilde in the Opera House, Part 1 — Zemlinsky’s Intense Setting of “A Florentine Tragedy”

January 21, 2020
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Salome is not the only strong opera based on an Oscar Wilde play. This one-acter by Zemlinsky deserves a place in the repertoire today.

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