It’s fair to say the world of opera is in flux, with the nation’s preeminent company, New York’s Metropolitan Opera, sharply modernizing its repertoire, and locally, with the three opera houses pulling back from innovation somewhat and sticking with box-office certainties. Palm Beach Opera The West Palm Beach-based company opens its 62nd season with the most reliable … [Read more...]
PBO marks repertory milestone with sparkling ‘Falstaff’
By Márcio Bezerra It was well worth the wait: After 60 seasons, Palm Beach Opera finally staged Giuseppe Verdi’s last opera, Falstaff, in a remarkable production that will remain as one of the highest achievements of the (at times heroic) company’s history. Premiered at La Scala in Milan in 1893, the opera is not as popular as Verdi’s earlier output, not only because it … [Read more...]
At Palm Beach Opera, a delightful, irresistible ‘Così fan Tutte’
By Márcio Bezerra It is as if Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a musical Midas: Every musical genre he touched was elevated by him, including opera. Few other composers (one must think as far back as Monteverdi) prepared the way for the advent of modern (19th century) opera as he did. Therefore, it is always a treat when Palm Beach Opera stage one of his masterworks as it … [Read more...]
PB Opera takes on cultural clash in ‘Madama Butterfly’
The opening of Japan to Western trade in the 1850s engendered a flurry of exotic-themed art in Europe and the United States. Painters and interior designers, dramatists and musicians created numerous works that evoked the mysteries of the land of the Chrysanthemum Throne. Many of these works examined the clash of East and West, including a French novel, an American short … [Read more...]
Season Preview 2022-23: The season in opera
South Florida’s two regional opera companies are adding some new things to a lineup heavy in audience favorites, while across the state in Sarasota, the repertory company is returning to an early Verdi masterwork and offering a French rarity. The country’s largest opera troupes are making moves this season into a much more modern direction, with new works, especially … [Read more...]
Palm Beach Opera gets $6 million gift; announces 2022-23 season
WEST PALM BEACH — Palm Beach Opera has received a gift of $6 million from a local foundation, the largest donation in the opera company’s 61-year history. The gift, announced last week, will allow Palm Beach Opera to move forward with renovations on its new home in the artsy Northwood section of West Palm Beach. The company announced in September it had bought an … [Read more...]
Well-sung ‘Merry Widow’ closes PB Opera season in light, frothy style
By Rosie Rogers Palm Beach Opera’s production of Franz Lehár’s The Merry Widow last weekend at the Kravis Center made a light and lively, if not technically perfect, closer for the company's 60th season. Directed by Helena Binder and using Sheldon Harnick’s English lyrics, the show compensated for a few flaws with beautiful sets and an able cast. Binder introduced many … [Read more...]
PB Opera’s ‘Elixir of Love’: A silly love story, beautifully sung and told
By Rosie Rogers One of the most exciting things about opera is the indulgence and relatability of its heightened emotions, and what’s more relatable than the uncertainty of love? Directed by Fenlon Lamb, Palm Beach Opera’s production of Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love created this relatability by telling a love story that is as earnest as it is silly. Gorgeous lighting … [Read more...]
On eve of PB Opera’s ‘L’elisir,’ tenor explores poignancy of ‘Una furtiva lagrima’
By Robert Croan Mario Chang has no qualms about touting the Palm Beach Opera production of L’elisir d’amore (The Elixir of Love), in which he will be the star this weekend. (The show runs Friday through Sunday.) “Tell the people that if they stay away they’re missing something very good,” says the Colombian tenor, who will play the central role of Nemorino. “This … [Read more...]
PB Opera’s ‘Carmen’ a study in strong women
By Rosie Rogers What kind of woman is Carmen? Since the premiere of Georges Bizet’s Carmen in 1875 she has been many different things. She can be a dangerous femme fatale, a proto feminist icon, or just another operatic woman doomed to die. In Palm Beach Opera’s Jan. 28 performance of Carmen, J’Nai Bridges’ Carmen fits none of these archetypes. She was fully human — … [Read more...]