The Classical Review

Mäkelä, CSO wrap year with bracing contemporary works, Beethoven and Schumann

Mäkelä conducted the world premiere of subito con forza in 2020 and he drew a notably well-balanced performance from the CSO ...
The Classical Review

Rare Bruch, familiar Beethoven take flight in Vänskä’s Grant Park debut

Paul Huang performed Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy with Osmo Vänskä conducting the Grant Park Orchestra Wednesday night. Photo: Margo Hawk The Grant Park Music Festival’s podium batting average is ...
The Classical Review

Florida Grand Opera’s “Silent Night” proves a rich and moving tale of common humanity

Alex DeSocio (Audebert), Kyle Albertson (Horstmayer) and Elijah William Brown (Jonathan Dale) in Kevin Puts’ Silent Night, presented by Florida Grand Opera at the Arsht Center in Miami. Photo: Lewis ...
The Classical Review

Opera creators find the light of love amid the horror of “The Shining”

Craig Irvin as Jack Torrance (with Bella Grace Smith as Danny) in Utah Opera’s The Shining. Photo: Dana Sohm In their adaptation of Stephen King’s iconic 1977 novel The Shining, composer Paul Moravec ...
The Classical Review

“X” fires Met stage with compelling character portrait, colorful staging

Will Liverman stars in Anthony Davis’s X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X at the Metropolitan Opera. Photo: Marty Sohl / Met Opera The existence of a compelling opera about Malcolm X by the ...
The Classical Review

Dubious “Dutchman” and trenchant “Tosca” refract two classics through modern lenses at Santa Fe Opera

Nicholas Brownlee and Elza van den Heever in Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman at Santa Fe Opera. Photo: Curtis Brown/SFO General director Robert Meya has given Wagner fans cause to rejoice: Santa Fe Opera ...
The Classical Review

A Boston double-shot of Gershwin musicals proves timely and delightful

Aaron Engebreth and Abagail Paschke in George Gershwin’s Of Thee I Sing, presented by Odyssey Opera. Photo: Kathy Wittman What has been harder to come by of late, and not just locally, are ...
The Classical Review

Rust Belt bel canto: Met provides a dark, mostly compelling update to “Lucia”

Nadine Sierra in the title role of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor at the Metropolitan Opera. Photo: Marty Sohl Cheers greeted Simon Stone and his creative team Saturday night as they walked onstage ...
The Classical Review

Outstanding new opera, “Loving v. Virginia,” makes a moving debut

Flora Hawk and Jonathan Michie star in the world premiere of Damien Geter’s Loving v. Virginia at Virginia Opera. Photo: Dave Pearson Virginia Opera is marking its golden anniversary season in the ...
The Classical Review

Ólafsson brings rarefied artistry to Bach, Beethoven and Schubert

Víkingur Ólafsson performed a recital Sunday at Symphony Center. Photo: Todd Rosenberg It has been a jam-packed weekend for pianophiles. The three-week Van Cliburn Competition reached its climax ...
The Classical Review

Sierra and Villazón shine brightly in Met’s new “Sonnambula”

Nadine Sierra stars as Amina in Bellini’s La Sonnambula at the Metropolitan Opera. Photo: Marty Sohl / Met Opera For such a famous opera, a vehicle for some of the great modern divas, La Sonnambula ...