opera | The European Conservative

A Thorough Modern Devil Tempts Paris:
A Review of Gounod’s Faust at the Paris Opera

Paul du Quenoy August 3, 2022

Tobias Kratzer successfully framed the tale’s tension between the temptation of lustful vice and the promise of salvation as a modern ‘crise de conscience.’

Carmen Marks Washington National Opera’s Gala Return to Fully Staged Performances

Paul du Quenoy June 20, 2022

Isabel Leonard’s portrayal of Carmen was commendably human in a world that often also demands some kind of ideology to peer out from the character.

Kyiv’s National Opera House Reopens as War Enters its 4th Month

Robert Semonsen May 29, 2022

For the first time since Russia began its so-called ‘special military operation’ three months ago—and as the war rages on east of the Dnieper River—the National Opera of Ukraine in Kyiv, in a symbolic act of defiance, has reopened its doors to the public.

The Leopard Finally Gets an Operatic Adaptation

Paul du Quenoy May 1, 2022

American composer Michael Dellaira secured the operatic rights to Lampedusa’s novel after rereading it following a trip to Sicily in 2014. Pandemic complications froze the entire performance world for two years, so the opera only had its world premiere in March 2022, in a run of two performances by the Frost Opera Theater.

A Disappointing Don Carlos

Paul du Quenoy April 21, 2022

Set against the production’s dismal sets, the action unfolded as a five-hour dirge of funereal hopelessness before ejecting spectators into equally gray Manhattan surroundings where after-theater conviviality is long dead.

America’s Soprano Still Sings!

Paul du Quenoy March 27, 2022

Listening to Renée Fleming in an intimate recital nearly five years after her semi-retirement, one has to wonder if she left too soon. She has upcoming April concerts in France, Germany, Lithuania, and the UK.

The Pope Whisperer: Don Lorenzo Perosi (1872-1956)

David Boos March 7, 2022

To fully appreciate Perosi, we must try to look at the hope he sparked in people during his golden age.

Kremlin Politics Reaches the Arts Sector: Valery Gergiev Fired from Munich Philharmonic

David Boos March 4, 2022

The European wave of sanctions has reached the arts sector. Prominent Russian artists, such as Valery Gergiev and Anna Netrebko, are having their contracts terminated for “insufficient distancing” from Kremlin politics.

La Scala’s Omicron Opening

Paul du Quenoy February 27, 2022

Sadly, Macbeth turned out to be more of a miss than a hit. Livermore replaced the original Scottish setting of Verdi’s opera and Shakespeare’s play with a modern urban gangster war. The idea is far from original. Theater directors have toyed with it for at least forty years, not only with Macbeth but with other operas featuring political power tainted by betrayal and a hint of sexuality.

Where Have All the Wagnerians Gone?

Paul du Quenoy January 12, 2022

The production has aged well. Its vibrant return after a seven-year absence should have been a landmark revival and one of the highlights of the Met’s new season. Musically, it met the mark. The energy on stage was palpable. The only disappointment was to be found in the audience. The revival’s first performance reportedly filled just 57% of the seats.

Tag: opera

A Thorough Modern Devil Tempts Paris:
A Review of Gounod’s Faust at the Paris Opera

Carmen Marks Washington National Opera’s Gala Return to Fully Staged Performances

Kyiv’s National Opera House Reopens as War Enters its 4th Month

The Leopard Finally Gets an Operatic Adaptation

A Disappointing Don Carlos

America’s Soprano Still Sings!

The Pope Whisperer: Don Lorenzo Perosi (1872-1956)

Kremlin Politics Reaches the Arts Sector: Valery Gergiev Fired from Munich Philharmonic

La Scala’s Omicron Opening

Where Have All the Wagnerians Gone?

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