Racette and Terfel Team Up Again for "Tosca" at Ravinia Festival

Maestro Conlon leads Racette and Licitra
(Photo: Patrick Gipson/Ravinia Festival)

"The trio of leads included two-thirds of the spring Metropolitan Opera cast from the Luc Bondy production that continues to stoke controversy in opera circles. At the core was a gripping, seething portrayal of the loathsome Scarpia by Bryn Terfel. The Welsh bass-baritone assumed a more static stage presence than the other cast members, yet he effortlessly commanded the full attention of a captivated audience with malevolent, coiled-spring intensity. His depiction of the sadistic police chief evolved from calm, confident brutality to wounded, vengeful fury, all evinced without bellowing or bombast. Italian tenor Salvatore Licitra has been well received at the Met and elsewhere for his idiomatic, dulcet-toned Cavaradossi. In this reading there was a hint of grain in a few top notes, as well as scenes in which he seemed needlessly risk-averse. On the whole his warm and ardent portrayal earned hearty and well-deserved kudos from his grateful admirers. Soprano Patricia Racette has also scored triumphs with leading companies in the title role, and her absorbing performance Saturday affirmed her status as a leading Tosca of our time. She wasn’t as vocally dazzling as some who have personified the celebrated singer and jealous lover, but she brought an honest dignity to a role often overwrought by helpless despair." [Source]

Seattle Opera "Porgy and Bess" Showcases Two Young Singers

Mary Elizabeth Williams as Serena with Gordon
Hawkins as Porgy. (Photo: Elise Bakketun/Seattle Opera)

"Porgy is a treasure trove of magnificent music, a compendium of one great number after another. Its status as an opera has always been more a complicated proposition. Discussions about where exactly it fits in the repertoire, not to mention its generic implications, are ultimately unsatisfactory: it is what it is, and the occasional lurches in tone from rather conventional old-school opera to Broadway show are part of its fabric. In a way, Seattle Opera’s production doesn’t particularly try to smooth over these inconsistencies. The show-tune idiom associated with Sportin’ Life’s two big numbers (excellently sung, acted, and danced by tenor Jermaine Smith) are frankly treated as star turns. Alto Gwendolyn Brown’s Maria knowingly achieves considerable theatrical effect with her small character role. Leads Gordon Hawkins as Porgy and Lisa Daltirus as Bess embody a more classical sensibility, and a rather refined one at that. Soprano Daltirus brings stature and a sophisticated musical delivery to a role

Click here for special interview
with Mary Elizabeth Williams.

that swings from near-caricature to gritty realism. Baritone Hawkins, a SO favourite, has a warm, rich sound, and very considerable finesse; on opening night, his sensitive restraint was tarnished by occasional balance issues between singer and brass-heavy orchestra. In subordinate roles, baritone Michael Redding was a virile and effective Crown, with lots of requisite swagger and a ringing sound. Porgy’s second scene proved a fine showcase for soprano Mary Elizabeth Williams, who demonstrated that Gershwin (and librettist Dubose Heyward’s) rather one-dimensional characters are nonetheless capable of surprising psychological depth. Her 'Since my man’s gone now' was raw but astonishingly moving—one of the highlights of a solid, and solidly entertaining, revival of a (the?) great American classic." [Source]

Donovan Singletary as Jake.
(Photo: Elise Bakketun)

"Blue's opening number of 'Summertime' sets the tone perfectly with her soaring voice and only sets up the tragedy even more for when Daltirus reprises it later in the show. And [Donovan] Singletary and Blue are stunning as they portray the new hope of this run down town. Smith and Redding as the villains of the piece are each deliciously despicable in their own way. Redding with his sultry lowness and Smith with his conniving temptations and snake like physicality. Brown tends to steal every scene she's in with her grand, take no prisoners attitude. And Williams' rendition of 'My Man is Gone Now' at the funeral brought the entire house to tears. But the show is called Porgy and Bess and the title characters do not get overshadowed at all by the stellar supporting cast. Hawkins quiet strength is the perfect compliment for Daltirus' broken innocence and the two create the perfect aching chemistry for these heartbreaking lovers. Now you may have noticed I haven't said much about the vocal quality of the performers. Well, that's

Click here for a special interview
with Donovan Singletary.

because it all goes without saying as every single person in the show, from principle to chorus, delivers soul shaking vocal performances. This is made even more awe inspiring as none of the performers are miked. Yes, you heard me. In the grand McCaw Hall, there is no amplification so these amazing singers are literally belting to the rafters. Yes the supertitles are still there as with foreign language operas so we're sure to get every word of the story. But for us jaded musical theater aficionados, listening to real voices able to do what they did is a genuine treat. The production is near flawless." [Source]

"Aida" Under Finzi Pasca's Big-Top Production at the Mariinsky

"A minimalist and deeply philosophical show is perhaps not quite what most people would expect from a production of Verdi’s Aida directed by a man who has made an international career producing shows for a circus. Yet this is exactly what Swiss-born director Daniele Finzi Pasca is offering audiences at the Mariinsky Theater Concert Hall....What links Aida with Finzi Pasca’s show Corteo, with which Cirque du Soleil toured Russia last year, is a sense of surreal fantasy. In Corteo, the audience watches a clown’s dream about his death and funeral that is magically transformed into a carnival. Aida is designed in the same ethereal aesthetic. Firstly, the director has cleansed the production of any visual element that would link it to a particular era or ethnicity. The costumes of both the Egyptians and the Nubians border in style somewhere between circus grotesque and futuristic minimalism....In terms of spirit, Pasca’s Aida is both humane and intimate. The director seemingly chose to make Amneris a central character. Yekaterina Semenchuk’s performance strengthens Pasca’s ideas. Head and shoulders above the rest of the cast, Semenchuk dazzled as the pharaoh’s daughter, tormented by her jealousy, engrossed by her sorrow, troubled by her tardy remorse and devastated by her sudden loneliness. Her stage partners failed to create as emotionally captivating incarnations of their characters. Yekaterina Shimanovich was technically adroit as Aida, yet she remained unsettlingly estranged from her supposedly beloved Radames (Avgust Amonov). It did not help that Amonov chose to present a somewhat anemic portrayal of his character, as if trying to depict someone who leaves it up to the women around him to decide his fate. Aida’s emotional connection to her father (Edem Umerov) was far more compelling. Umerov created a powerful image of Aida’s father, Amonasro, the King of Nubia, at once noble and passionate." [Source]

Read an extensive interview with Daniele Finzi Pasca about the production by clicking here.

"Les Huguenots" Triumphant at Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels

"Drawing hearty performances from orchestra and chorus, Marc Minkowski conducts an admirably full account of the opera that runs to nearly five hours (including two intermissions). From his eloquent shaping of the Lutheran chorale 'Ein feste Burg' at the outset, Mr. Minkowski seeks out the music’s expressive potential. He is alert to fine points of orchestration in a score that never sounds formulaic. Clearly at one with the decision to emphasize Marguerite’s sexuality, Marlis Petersen, an acclaimed Lulu from Alban Berg’s opera, sings with seductive brilliance and moves with almost erotic allure — an unforgettable portrayal. Mireille Delunsch stews convincingly over Valentine’s conflict between love for Raoul and loyalty to family and religion. Julia Lezhneva, dressed in hotel attire, looks cherubic as Urbain and sings delightfully in both the page’s arias. The tenor Eric Cutler brings a winning combination of full- and head-voiced singing to the challenging role of Raoul. Soon after he sang his heart out in the fourth-act duet with Valentine — the most popular love duet of the 19th century — he shined again in Raoul’s taxing aria in Act 5. The baritones Philippe Rouillon and Jean-François Lapointe are excellent as the Comtes de Bris and de Nevers, respectively. And as Raoul’s retainer Marcel, the keen-edged bass Jérôme Varnier deals well with the crusty Huguenot’s quasi-comic moments and his stirring celestial vision in the face of death. The performances are double cast. Because of its impact on other composers, few works can be said to have changed the course of opera history as did Les Huguenots. Anyone who cares about opera should see this production." [Source]

An interesting promotional photograph for the opera is after the jump.

(Photos: Clärchen und Matthias Baus)

Vienna "Káťa Kabanová" Harnesses Much Needed Sadness

Suicidal tendencies. (Photo: Michael Poehn)

"Conductor Franz Welser-Moest, who has described the score of Katya Kabanova as 'turbulent waters' full of 'very many cliffs,' navigated admirably through the musical torrents. That’s not easy in a work where one chord oftens seems internally torn as it expresses the conflicting emotions of as many as three singers on stage. On stage, Janice Watson was heartbreakingly authentic as Katya, with plenty of the range and volume that this opera calls for. Klaus Florian Vogt kept pace as Boris, powering up his delivery to Wagnerian strength as required. Deborah Polanski was a wonderful Kabanicha, the uber mother-in-law whose oppressive domination of Katya — and suppressed sexual desire for her own son — drives Katya first to adultery and then to suicide. Her look of triumph as she bends over Katya’s dead body to slip the wedding ring off her finger and on to her own is one of the many highlights of the less than two-hour performance." [Source]

Anna Leese Steals Show in Opera Holland Park "L'Amico Fritz"

"As Fritz, Eric Margiore sometimes feels underpowered, although his voice is pleasing enough in tone. His handsome, innocent features make us warm to the character instantly, although there is something two-dimensional about his emotions, so that we never really get behind his reasons for rejecting marriage so vehemently. Overall, Margiore proves a competent rather than brilliant actor, and too many of his gestures verge on the melodramatic when it should be the music’s job to hint at what the character is truly feeling. David Stephenson proves a sturdy and effective Rabbi, while Patricia Orr is an all understanding Beppe. The Opera Holland Park Chorus contributes some beautiful off-stage singing, but it is Anna Leese’s Suzel that steals the night. Like the cherries she sings of, at their perfect moment of ripeness, her voice is sweet, rich, succulent and a sheer joy to experience. She also proves a fine actor as she conveys by turns innocence, tenderness, irritation, fear, sadness and ultimately love. The chemistry between her and Margiore is sometimes lacking, but the vocal performances of both ensure that the ‘Cherry Duet’ prevails handsomely." [Source]

Listen to excerpts of Anna Leese in her Debut Recital released on EMI in 2008, by clicking here. The recording features works of Manuel De Falla, Richard Strauss, Johannes Brahms, Herbert Hughes, Hubert Parry, Arthur Somervell, Herbert Howells and Peter Warlock.

OTSL's "Pelléas and Mélisande": No Opium Required

Liam Bonner in Debussy's Masterpiece

"Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, in the persons of stage director David Alden, set designer Paul Steinberg and lighting designer Adam Silverman, made all the right artistic decisions in their very American production of French composer Claude Debussy's only opera, Pelléas and Mélisande. Whether you enjoy it will depend on your reaction to Debussy's very French decision to use as the libretto Symbolist playwright Maurice Maeterlinck's play of the same name....The leads in particular — buttery soprano Corinne Winters (Mélisande),

richly expressive baritones Liam Bonner (Pelléas) and Gregory Dahl (Golaud), and spectacular twelve-year-old (you read that right) soprano Michael Meo — are unflagging in their creativity and musical good sense....Debussy, an inveterate opium smoker, would have loved it." [Source] Watch a multi-media preview of the production by clicking here.

Opéra de Lyon Cast Brings Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde" to Life

Wagnerians in France. (Photo: Stofleth)

"...Ann Petersen’s first Isolde is youthful and fresh but every bit the spurned princess. There is no edge to her voice, no shrieking for effect, simply gorgeous singing throughout. A revelation. Clifton Forbis, a globe-trotting Tristan, flashes electrifying muscular power but still floats captivating sotto voce effects. His third act agony is a triumph of rage and frustration. Stella Grigorian lacks the heft to sustain Brangaene’s cantilevered line, but Christof Fischesser’s superb Mark cradles his monologue like a polished lieder singer." [Source]

Kate Royal Explores the Life Cycle of Love in Recital Debut

The Royal blush of love at Weill Recital Hall.
(Photo: Richard Termine/The New York Times)

Kate Royal, pregnant with her second child, made her Carnegie Hall recital debut in Weill Recital Hall on May 20, 2011. Zachary Woolfe reviews for The New York Times : "Her ambitious program, a kind of original song cycle, was entitled A Lesson in Love, and Ms. Royal divided it into four themed sections: Waiting, the Meeting, the Wedding and Betrayal. (Not the most optimistic trajectory, but so it goes.) While she conveyed a sweet hopefulness in the first two and a sense of serene happiness in the third, it was when heartbreak was her subject that she was truly memorable .....But the second half felt more varied and specific as the emotional content of the works matured and then darkened. The calm clarity of Duparc’s 'Extase' suited Ms. Royal perfectly, as did Fauré’s 'Donc, Ce Sera par un Clair Jour d’Été.' She gave a stunning rendition of Britten’s 'O Waly, Waly'; its combination of pain and hushed serenity seemed written for her voice, which did just what was indicated by the final line, when love 'fades away like morning dew.'" [Source]

Watch a video of Kate Royal singing at WQXR studios:

Christopher Alden Takes on Naughty School Boys in Britten

(Photo: Alastair Muir)

Director Christopher Alden sets Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream in a boy's school with mixed results: "Thus, Oberon is the pervy, bespectacled Latin master with a pair of underage catamites, one of whom is Puck – Jamie Manton, too old - who turns out to be Theseus when he grows up, emotionally damaged (are you paying attention? It gets worse) and who relives the whole story in flashback whilst staggering around the stage like a slow-motion zombie. Tytania is the boot-faced drab Music mistress, forever vigorously castrating pupils’ writing tools in a pencil sharpener – geddit!!??!! – when not smoking the odd cigarettes which do duty for the 'love-juice' and lounging louchely up against the school’s dreary walls. The four lovers are all schoolchildren in uniform. The mechanicals are the school’s handymen and, I think, Sports master. The staging is claustrophobically confined to a triangular stretch of schoolyard bounded by two giant two-storey walls of classroom windows and corridors (designed by Charles Edwards) inside which the 'Fairies' – the other pupils – line up on both levels in order to make their crucial contributions and from

(Photo: Alastair Muir)

which the staging never once deviates. Bottom is not transformed into an ass, or indeed anything else at all: he merely takes his shirt off and – like everyone else in this miserable, interminable drivel – staggers around in slo-mo a lot, provoking the others’ holy horror for no visually discernible reason. Twenty minutes minimum of “ass” jokes thereby go for absolutely nothing, as does any sense of magic, mystery, atmosphere or, God forbid, fun. The lovers’ weary collapse at the end of Act II is accompanied by the school burning down, which, given that they’re inside it at the time, makes their decision to go to sleep there rather puzzling. The Act III Pyramus and Thisby sequence – performance-proof, I have always found in the past – is rendered so coarsely and grossly as to be virtually unwatchable in its Carry On Crassness (Snug, drunk, pisses up a wall and gets a blow-job from 'Thisby') ." [Source]

Patricia Racette Excels in Title Role of Iphigénie For WNO

Racette in Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride at Washington National Opera (Photo: Scott Suchman)

"Without any daringly ornamented arias or anything extraneous that might divert attention from the story's dramatic continuity, a Gluck opera will succeed only with talented singing actors and compelling direction. There are almost none of the tried-and-true operatic clichés to fall back on, not even a romantic intrigue: the central relationship here is of brother and sister, who do not even recognize one another until the end. In the title role, soprano Patricia Racette was riveting, the searing strength of her voice underscoring the still intensity of her stage presence. This was certainly what one expected of Racette, after such satisfying turns here as Jenůfa in 2007 and Ellen Orford in 2009, but her bold and electrifying performance far exceeded my hopes. After some tentative notes at the top of her range in the first hour or so, Racette hit her stride, singing with lyrical abandon in the Act IV aria 'Je t'implore et je tremble.'" [Source]

More production photos after the jump.

All photos by Scott Suchman for the Washington National Opera.

Three Strauss Ladies Reviewed in HGO's "Ariadne"

"As The Prima Donna in the prologue and Ariadne in The Opera, Christine Goerke was confident and insistent, magnificent in every respect and clearly at the top of her game. Funny and dramatic, she seemed entirely natural in these roles, as if they had been written expressly for her. As well, her commanding voice was the only one that prevailed over a largely dominant orchestra. She has a powerful, fully resonant quality that would make her an ideal Wagnerian singer, and one can only imagine what her recent interpretation of Kundry in Parsifal at Turin’s Teatro Regio was like. I’d safely bet that it was incredible. Standing on her lonely rock and beckoning to what she believes is Hermes ready to escort her towards death, a spine-tingling moment, she was one of the most extraordinary artists on HGO’s stage this season."

"Just a month ago at Dallas Opera, Laura Claycomb gave an exacting, emotional performance as Gilda in Verdi’s popular Rigoletto. Her voice was rich and confident, clear in the high notes, her phrasing smooth and inventive. Thrilling to hear, she was also a very convincing actor, vulnerable and endearing as the hunchbacked jester’s beautiful daughter. This being the only other role I’ve seen her perform, however, it appears that she is much more attuned to Verdi’s flowing Italian than Strauss’ dense Austrian-flavored German. Her interpretation of Zerbinetta on Friday was largely unremarkable. It seemed she was protecting her voice in order to make it through the thing. Her high notes were raspy, sometimes thin. She struggled with the coloratura flourishes in the lengthy second-scene 'Opera' aria. She looked tired. This might have been unnoticeable if she had exuded more charisma. Zerbinetta is an 'all or nothing' role, and Claycomb stayed safely in the middle."

"In the prologue it is Zerbinetta, I believe, who refers to The Composer with contempt, saying, 'his endless top notes are irritating.' Funny when mentioned within the opera, unfortunately this was exactly the case with Susan Graham, who didn’t seem in good voice on Friday night. It was as if she couldn’t hear herself. She seemed even out of breath at times. Most of her top notes were distinctly sharp or flat, and vocally she wandered throughout the scene, giving us far too many sudden fortissimos. Strauss gave some of his most glorious phrases to this character, and I kept waiting for Graham to settle in and dazzle, but she didn’t. There is also the matter of her acting. Yes, The Composer has a stormy persona, but that doesn’t mean the part is one-dimensional. 'He' has to do more than stamp his foot time and again."

[Source]

In Review: "Tannhäuser" at the Dresden Semperoper

(Photo: Matthias Creutziger)

"Impressively, all the singers in this production, with the exception of the renowned Wagnerian tenor Stephen Gould in the title role, were the Ensemble members of the Semperoper. It may lack the starry cast of Vienna or Covent Garden, but the German system of maintaining a group of principal singers who sing a variety of roles throughout the season helps create a natural rapport between the singers which is essential in Wagner. Of the cast, the American soprano Marjorie Owens singing the role of Elisabeth stood out for the richness of her timbre, the ease in projection as well as the sincerity of her expression. On the other hand, Tichina Vaughn’s portrayal of Venus, with her wide vibrato, seemed a bit of a caricature although she brought out more personality in Act III. Stephen Gould is a highly experienced and dependable Tannhäuser with amazing vocal stamina, and he sang with plenty of ardour and passion. Wolfram von Eschenbach was sung by Christoph Pohl and if his 'Abendstern' aria did not have quite the charisma of Christian Gerhaher at Covent Garden last December, he played the crucial role in the last scene with genuine emotion. The Landgraf was sung authoritatively by Michael Eder. Lastly but not least, the Dresden Staatskappelle orchestra conducted by the venerable Peter Schneider was at the heart of the whole production....a prominent Wagner interpreter and a regular at Bayreuth, paced the music perfectly, and his balance of the voice and orchestra was exemplary." [Source]

Renée Fleming Delivers Birthday Gift Concert (Drums Included)

Fleming performing arias and songs with piano (Photo: Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

In March, Opera Fresh discussed diva Renée Fleming's tightly packed schedule that would include a one-off concert to celebrate the 88th birthday of Henry Segerstrom in

(Photo: Christine Cotter/OCR)

Orange County. The event took place on April 5 and the Orange County Register reviews it here: "Fleming didn't sound quite warmed-up for her opening numbers, 'Adieu, notre petite table' from Massenet's Manon and 'The Jewel Song' from Gounod's Faust, her phrasing choppy and her French virtually indecipherable. No one was hurt, though; she got through them prettily enough. She eschewed simplicity in her renditions of two arias from André Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire and Dave Grusin's arrangements of 'The Water is Wide' and 'Shendandoah,' gussying them up with lustrous colors and emotive cues. The reverberant hall seemed to work against her capturing any real intimacy. Things got better with the 'Vilja-Lied' from Lehar's The Merry Widow and 'The Song of the Moon' from Dvorák's Rusalka (which Fleming

(Photo: Christine Cotter/OCR)

described as 'my signature aria'), both of which featured coherent linear singing and graceful lyrical movement. Better still were the three Italian arias after intermission, including "Vissi d'arte" from Tosca, her voice now in full bloom and supplying exquisite detail without undue clutter. Richard Bado was her steady accompanist. Leonard Bernstein's 'Somewhere' and 'I Feel Pretty' (cutely and girlishly sung) supplied the bridge to Fleming's alternative rock set (yes), a sampling of her Dark Hope CD, performed at the request of the Segerstroms with the New York studio musicians who played on the recording. Various acoustical curtains were deployed to deaden the hall for the amplified music, Fleming singing with microphone. With the aid of what were apparently lyric sheets, she dispatched numbers by Muse, Band of Horses, Death Cab for Cutie, Leonard Cohen ('Hallelujah,' of course) and Peter Gabriel. She didn't embarrass herself (a triumph in itself), but neither did she

(Photo: Christine Cotter/OCR)

really get down. She's not an earthy singer. Fleming presented it all, in spoken remarks, as something of a lark, and the audience accepted it in good cheer. She sang in her speaking range, mostly without vibrato – it was fine, not bad, not great. Fleming had apparently never performed these pieces in concert before. In encore, sans microphone and rejoined by Bado and a few of the New Yorkers, Fleming sang 'Summertime' (opulently) and 'Over the Rainbow' (in an arrangement too fancy for its own good). Then, Bado and she performed the inevitable, 'O Mio Babbino Caro' from Gianni Schicchi," another request of the Segerstroms, its climactic swoon sung directly to their box. It was lovely."

(Photo: Christine Cotter/OCR)

"Midway through the second half, the grand piano was wheeled off to the wings, revealing a display of electric keyboards, drum kit (complete with her name in bold letters on the bass drum head), microphones and monitors." [Source, Source]

English National Opera Presents "The Return of Ulysses"

Tom Randle and Pamela Helen Stephen sing Monteverdi
(Photo: Tristram Kenton/The Guardian)

"In the intimacy of the Young Vic, a venue which seems to have a special gift of reining in and sharpening the more sprawlingly proportioned ENO, this had urgent, if doubtless to many irritating, impact. Andrews, an Australian theatre director, achieves shock impact by assaulting the senses, especially the visual. The use of big screens, as here projecting real-time close-ups, is already an operatic cliche which fights with the action and is best ignored. Stillness is an alien notion. Why stand on the spot to deliver your big, sensuous, ornamented aria when you could run, thrust your groin or, in one case, take your knickers off?" [Source]

High praise for the creative team after the jump.

(Photo: Johann Persson)

"Three components have made this joint production by English National Opera and the Young Vic remarkable: Monteverdi's music, Jonathan Cohen's musical direction and the ensemble work on stage. Cohen clearly knows every ounce of the score in depth and he lives the music while he superbly directs his forces. There are no histrionic devices; communication with singers and orchestra is governed by knowledge and respect for text and music. Notwithstanding the contradiction in terms, I would describe Jonathan Cohen as a humble star. Stage director Benedict Andrews has created extraordinary theatre. His singers don't keep going on and off stage: more often than not, they stay on stage – regardless of whether they should be there according to the libretto – and interact with the story line. This must be an exhausting experience for the singers but they become true parts of the whole rather than just playing their roles." [Source]

Italian Soprano Conquers Palm Beach Opera as Tosca

Tosca and Cavaradossi (sung by Riccardo Massi)

"The hefty voice of soprano Chiara Taigi brought an unaccustomed depth and worldliness to the role of the renowned singer Floria Tosca...Fittingly, the role of Tosca was taken by a native of the city of Rome. Chiara Taigi’s rich soprano and subtle acting gave Tosca unusual depth and maturity. Rather than engaging in a succession of over-the-top, jealous diva poses, she gave a realistic – within the bounds of the art form – portrait of a woman of warmth, emotional turmoil and frantic courage. Her singing wasn’t always even or accurate, particularly in the first act, as she berates Cavaradossi about the beautiful blonde woman in his church painting. But her 'Vissi d’arte' was a moving, breathing and emotionally committed performance. Her murder of Scarpia, rather than being a moment for shrieking dramatics, was creepily intimate as she murmured to him to die." [Source]

Renée Fleming Highlighted as Sophisticated Lady

"Cassandra Wilson, Diana Krall, Melody Gardot, Norah Jones, Renée Fleming and Ruth Cameron: the lineup of singers performing popular standards and vintage obscurities on “Sophisticated Ladies,” the 25th-anniversary album of Charlie Haden Quartet West, is formidable. The 12-cut CD is the deepest immersion in the quartet’s moody retro film noir style since its 1999 album, “The Art of the Song,” which featured the guest vocalists Shirley Horn and Bill Henderson...The happiest surprise is Ms. Fleming’s voluptuously besotted rendition of 'A Love Like This,' composed by Victor Young as a theme for the 1943 movie 'For Whom the Bell Tolls,' with lyrics by Ned Washington. Ms. Fleming’s rich, gliding voice evokes a woman wallowing in heedless sensual afterglow, her half-choked singing flooded with emotion." [Source]

Christopher Alden's "Partenope" Brings Händel To New Heights

"One of Handel's lightest and frothiest pieces, this forgotten gem sparkles under the direction of Christopher Alden." The Daily Telegraph

The American director brings his production of Händel's Partenope to Opera Australia with soprano Emma Matthews taking on the title role. The cast also includes Jacqueline Dark, Catherine Carby, Christopher Field, Kanen Breen and Richard Alexander. Christian Curnyn is conducting. Performances will be March 23, 26, 28 and 31.

"As Partenope, soprano Emma Matthews delivered another triumphant performance. Her opening aria was a stunning coloratura showpiece, displaying breathtaking agility and clarity of articulation. Matthews was secure, flexible and controlled across her tessitura, conveying her character's curious mix of teasing superficiality and emotional honesty." The Australian

Watch a video of excerpts from Emma Matthews' CD of arias. Click image to purchase CD

"Emma Matthews makes a triumphant return to baroque repertoire with her role debut as the alluring but wise Partenope. A cascade of blissful arias and ensembles show Handel at his most inventive, exploring voices from bass to contralto to countertenor, while the orchestra conjures up the crash and dazzle of battles in love and war."
[Source, Source, Source]

"The Turn of the Screw" Gets a Scrubdown For L.A. Opera

Patricia Racette stars in 1950s update
(Photo: Lawrence K. Ho/Los Angeles Times)

"Michael Kepler Meo, an impressively confident boy soprano with an eloquent musicality and a becoming stage manner, was a vulnerable Miles. Britten's score and Myfanwy Piper’s libretto suggest a boy who is more a threat, but this Miles was the modern innocent abused and wounded, seeking comfort. That played into Racette's Governess, whose hysteria proved compelling theater, if on the all-purpose side. She seemed the sort who could have been done in by just about anything. Both she and Ann Murray (Mrs. Grose) have large voices, and although they enunciated the English text admirably, they also produced a vibrato-rich blend in ensemble passages that undid them. Ashley Emerson was a striking Flora, the little angel who isn’t such a little angel. William Burden was a suave Quint and also sang the prologue with polish if without the curious edge characteristic of Britten tenors. Tamara Wilson's Miss Jessel was more a spook, coming across as having just been dredged from the lake. An odder, angrier, more mysterious Turn of the Screw can leave an audience too shaken to applaud. Saturday was a night to cheer the cleverness of a director and designer and the devotion of singers, a virtuoso instrumental ensemble and Conlon's engaged conducting." [Source]

Boston Lyric Opera Scores with Händel's "Agripinna"

Caroline Worra in the title role with Christian Van Horn
as the Roman emperor Claudio

"The aria [“Voi che udite il mio lamento"] was particularly moving on Friday, thanks to the pure-voiced and uncommonly sensitive singing of the young countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo as Ottone. He was well-matched by his Poppea, the impressive Kathleen Kim, who acted vividly and sang with a nimble, clear, gleaming soprano. David Trudgen sang well as Nerone, even if one could imagine additional dimensions to his man-boy conception of the role. Christian Van Horn was a vibrant Claudio, by turns a chest-baring lothario and moralizing sovereign. Jose Alvarez, David McFerrin, and David M. Cushing rounded out this cast. And in the title role, Caroline Worra was vocally and dramatically commanding as a freewheeling Agrippina, crazed with blind ambition for her son yet not without her own sympathetic vulnerabilities." [Source]