David McVicar brings out the best in a young cast for this eleventh revival of his 2006 production of Mozart’s glorious Marriage of Figaro. As he has shown in many other productions, McVicar combines total respect for the intentions of the original composer and librettist with a knack for sensing the strengths of the individual … Read more
Angelina Jolie has seemingly put her all into her next role — and spent half a year in training. The Oscar-winning actor recently wrapped filming her starring role in Pablo Larraín’s “Maria,” an upcoming biopic about soprano Maria Callas, and shared Thursday ahead of the Venice International Film Festival premiere how terrifying that process really … Read more
VENICE, Italy — For Angelina Jolie, portraying the famed opera singer Maria Callas meant more to her than she can put into words. “I felt such a privilege to feel like I got to know this woman and got to be inside her skin a moment. I really care for her deeply,” Jolie told The … Read more
SALZBURG, Austria — Offbeat operas have been some of the Salzburg Festival’s best in recent years, the latest a colorful, outlandish and entertaining staging of Sergei Prokofiev’s “The Gambler” by director Peter Sellars. Starring soprano Asmik Grigorian as Polina and tenor Sean Panikkar as Alexei, the 125-minute work was met with enthusiastic applause when it … Read more
The legend of Tristan and Isolde (also known in some versions as Iseult) dates back at least to the Middle Ages. Tristan is depicted elsewhere as one of King Arthur’s Round Table Knights but in this story acts as an emissary of King Mark of Cornwall, charged with bringing back Isolde from Ireland to be … Read more
Never let the challenge of an English summer get in the way of belting out a good aria. That was the motto of arguably the world’s best – and most popular tenor Andrea Bocelli when he appeared at BST Hyde Park. Under grey skies and with the occasional brisk shower, the celebrated Italian singer decided … Read more
Since it appeared in 1790, Cosi Fan Tutte has been the most controversial of Mozart’s comic operas. For much of the 19th and early 20th centuries, it was rarely seen in Europe’s opera houses, particularly in Britain where its sexually risqué plot was seen as conflicting with Victorian morality. Now that we are more relaxed about … Read more
Ravishingly revved-up with a sexually-charged, intoxicating heroine and sublimely hummable hits from Bizet eponymous opera, this Carmen has all the ingredients for a blockbuster crowd-pleaser. Both an impassioned story of female agency and a cautionary tale about fragile men, countless choreographers have come a cropper trying to find a satisfying balance between the tragically intertwined … Read more
Turning a 1905 German operetta into something that will be enjoyed by a British audience today poses a problem for any director, but Glyndebourne have solved it magnificently by asking Cal McCrystal to take on the task and giving free rein to his glorious comic talent. While an opera has music and singing throughout, an … Read more
NEW YORK — As Roger Daltrey hits the road on a short solo tour this June, he’s unsure if fans will ever see another tour from The Who. “I don’t see it. I don’t know whether The Who’ll ever will go out again,” he told The Associated Press over Zoom. The 80-year-old rocker has a … Read more
