By Márcio Bezerra Palm Beach Opera closed its 2025 season with a outstanding production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro. Even by the higher standards set by the company since the pandemic, this one was exceptional, and for many reasons. First produced in 1786, The Marriage of Figaro, as it is known in English, is not only a masterwork in the operatic … [Read more...]
PB Opera’s ‘Roméo et Juliette’ impresses with fine cast, lovely production
By Márcio Bezerra Palm Beach Opera launched its 63th season with a solid production of Charles Gounod’s perennial favorite Roméo et Juliette. Featuring a handsome set by Opera Utah and dazzling costumes from Opéra de Montreal, the well-attended opening night had all the right ingredients for a satisfying experience, from both dramatic and musical points of … [Read more...]
PB Opera taps Netrebko for gala star, courting controversy
By Robert Croan Palm Beach Opera has announced that Russian soprano Anna Netrebko will be the featured guest at the company’s annual Gala, to be held Feb. 5 at The Breakers Palm Beach resort. She will partner with pianist Angel Rodriguez in a recital program to benefit Palm Beach Opera – “An Evening with Anna Netrebko” – and the event will be the singer’s Palm Beach Opera … [Read more...]
Superstar soprano Meade makes for memorable ‘Norma’ at PB Opera
By Márcio Bezerra Few operas in the repertoire can claim the same legendary status as Vincenzo Bellini’s Norma. Be it because it can be considered as the masterwork of bel canto, or because all the great divas of the past have tackled the title role with memorable results, Norma sets the standard for what a great soprano should sound like. In general, bel canto operas are … [Read more...]
2023-24 Season in Opera: Area’s companies play it (mostly) safe
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...]