The Boston Lyric Opera’s current production, adapted from the Scottish Opera, is updated, but this does no real damage. The three locales are properly preserved. And the three principal characters—opera diva Floria Tosca, her lover Mario Cavaradossi, and the lusting and villainous Baron Scarpia—hit their mark solidly. By Caldwell Titcomb. Some years ago the noted […]
Boston-Lyric-Opera
Classical Music Review: ‘Idomeneo’
Mozart wrote some wonderful music in Idomeneo for his wind players, who were up to the task under the capable baton of David Angus. Reviewed By Caldwell Titcomb Turning out an enormous amount of music in a host of genres during his short life (1756–91), Mozart felt that opera was his most important task. It […]
Classical Music Sampler: April 2010
By Caldwell Titcomb April 1: Ursula Oppens, long a champion of contemporary music (and a 1965 honors graduate of Harvard), presents a free piano recital under the auspices of the Blodgett Distinguished Artists Series. The program includes John Corigliano’s “Winging It,” William Bolcom’s “Ballade,” Tobias Picker’s “Three Nocturnes,” the world premiere of Charles Wuorinen’s “Oros,” […]
Opera Review: ‘Ariadne auf Naxos’
Reviewed By Caldwell Titcomb I was not able to catch Ariadne auf Naxos until the last of six performances that the Boston Lyric Opera (BLO) presented at the Shubert Theatre. By this time everything was clicking superbly—both the singers and the instrumentalists in the pit. What we got was a production that the BLO imported […]
Classical Music Sampler: March 2010
By Caldwell Titcomb March 2: The Contemporary Music Ensemble in residence at Boston University, Alea III, under the direction of Theodore Antoniou, offers a free concert in celebration of the late eminent composer/teacher/conductor Lukas Foss (1922–2009). Works by Foss to be performed are “Echoi,” “For Toru,” “Elegy for Anne Frank,” “For Aaron,” “The Prairie,” and […]
Classical Music Review: ‘Turn of the Screw’
Reviewed By Caldwell Titcomb The Boston Lyric Opera (BLO) initiated this week what it calls Opera Annex by moving out of its usual venue for its production of Benjamin Britten’s opera The Turn of the Screw. The site chosen was the Park Plaza Castle, built in 1891 as a Boston armory.
Opera Review: ‘Carmen’
By Caldwell Titcomb The Boston Lyric Opera (BLO) is currently offering Georges Bizet’s “Carmen,” his last completed and finest opera, which had its delayed and unsuccessful premiere in 1875. According to Opera America, “Carmen” ranks No. 4 in the list of most performed works from the 1880s to 2005, surpassed only by Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” […]
Coming Attractions in Classical Music: November 2009
By Caldwell Titcomb Nov 1: Dinosaur Annex celebrates the 80th birthday of composer Yehudi Wyner with two of his works, plus music by David Liptak, Stefan Hakenberg & others. Wyner will himself perform. Goethe-Institut Boston, 170 Beacon Street, Boston, at 7:30 p.m. (Talk with composers at 6:30 p.m.)
Opera Review: ‘The Bartered Bride’
By Caldwell Titcomb In “The Bartered Bride,” Jennifer Aylmer plays Marenka, who loves the farmhand Jenik, but is pressured to marry Vasek, the son of a wealthy neighbor. Boston has had the unusual luck of experiencing two major Czech operas within a few weeks. First, the Boston Lyric Opera gave us Antonin Dvořák’s “Rusalka” (see […]
Opera Review: Boston Lyric Opera’s “Rusalka”
By Caldwell Titcomb Note: Rusalka is transferring to the West End’s London Coliseum from March 28 to April 15, 2020. Czech opera is not often mounted in these parts. The two major composers were Bedrich Smetana (1824-84) and Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904). The latter wrote ten operas, some comic and some tragic. Among Czech natives, the […]