The Passion of Opera

After a lot of international travel and a hiatus from attending many performances, I finally got back into the Kennedy Center for Washington National Opera's production of  Der Ring des Nibelungen , the company's (and city's) first full cycle. I was happy to be able to attend this momentous event, and found the performances, direction, and overall concept gripping. I attended Cycle II. As I've said it similar situations before, this review will necessarily be briefer on each topic than some of my reviews, but hopefully will cover ground across the cycle and provide an overall perspective. Der Ring des Nibelungen Director:  Francesca Zambello Conductor:  Philippe Auguin Set Designer:  Michael Yeargan Costume Designer:  Catherine Zuber Lighting Designer:  Mark McCullough Projection Designers:  S. Katy Tucker and Jan Hartley Movement Director:  Denni Sayers Key *WNO debut ‡ Current Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist ± Former Domingo-Cafritz Youn...

It's been a long time since I've posted here. That's certainly not the intention. I do enjoy blogging about opera, be it in D.C., elsewhere in the U.S., or abroad. That said, work has been quite consuming lately. For other purposes, I did just recently write a sort of "introductory guide" to the Ring Cycle , and thought it would make sense to post it here. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen or, as it’s usually put in English, Ring Cycle , constitutes the most substantial undertaking in the operatic world. It is a “cycle” of four operas, Der Rheingold , Die Walküre , Siegfried , and Götterdämmerung , with every opera except the first clocking in at over five hours in length. Usually, the same cast of stalwart singers performs across all four performances, singing over an orchestra of approximately 100 instruments. It’s been called one of the greatest triumphs of mu...

This was my first time attending Beethoven's Missa Solemnis  in a live performance, a work so often overshadowed by the Beethoven's Sympthony No. 9 , not only throughout history, but on the very night the two premiered simultaneously. Once again, Anne Midgette of the Washington Post offers an insightful review that focuses a great deal on the nature of the work itself; I will focus more on the performance. General information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missa_solemnis_(Beethoven) Missa solemnis | Ludwig van Beethoven Soprano | Julia Sophie Wagner Mezzo-Soprano | Daniela Mack Tenor | Vale Rideout Bass | Kevin Thompson Violin | Nurit Bar-Josef Conductor | Julian Wachner Washington Chorus & Orchestra Presented in the Concert Hall of the Kennedy Center ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The ensemble for the evening was led by Julian Wachner, who conducted with an eco...

First, I apologize for the long hiatus in posts. I have not had much opportunity to see live opera since being back at Lawrence University in Wisconsin and in Arlington, Virginia. The conclusion of my schooling did offer a few of the previous scholarly posts. Now, however, being in Washington, D.C., more actual reviews will be forthcoming. I will be seeing Beethoven's Missa Solemnis  this weekend and will post on that shortly, as well. In the meantime, a review of Washington National Opera's  La boh è me at the Kennedy Center. This was my first time at the Kennedy Center opera house and I was surprised how small it is. All in all, that's really not a bad thing, just surprising for such a key performing space in the United States. I will write my own review, but Anne Midgette's November 2 review in the Washington Post  was spot on, so I've included a link here:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/at-wno-a-la-boheme-that-gets-the-job-done/2014/11/...