Ross Katz’s adaptation of Nicholas Sparks’ The Choice opens with a bold, un-back-up-able statement: “I’m about to tell you the secret of life,” delivered in voice-over by a mournful man who shows up at a hospital with flowers for his beloved. He shares some vaguely cryptic, archly ponderous dialogue with a doctor, words delivered solely for the audience’s benefit. The brief … [Read more...]
Hampson in strong voice and smart selection at Four Arts
Great opera stars have extended their careers for many years with lieder recitals, and they have a vast repertory of art song to choose from. America’s baritone, Thomas Hampson, came to the Four Arts on Feb. 11 with a lieder recital. The debonair singer is surely one of our finest ambassadors. Still active operatically in 2015, Hampson will be singing on stage in New York, … [Read more...]
Countertenor Mobley mesmerizes at Seraphic Fire
One of Seraphic Fire’s longtime members stepped into the solo spotlight last week with a concert of 18th-century opera and sacred music, and made an eloquent case for the beauty of the countertenor voice. Reginald Mobley, whom everyone calls Reggie, was the featured soloist in a program with Seraphic Fire’s Firebird Chamber Orchestra that paid tribute to the art and life of … [Read more...]
Sundays: Ghost ship
By Myles Ludwig I have to tread lightly here. I do not want to add to the anguish. Or the hysteria. But I feel as though I have been assaulted by TV news this week, CNN in particular. On the one hand, the geopolitical issue of Crimea has been positioned as a scary game of brinkmanship reminiscent of the post-WWII confrontation between the U.S. and Russia in Berlin which led … [Read more...]
Strong corps of singers lifts charming ‘Barber’ at PB Opera
There is a celebrated passage in Stendhal’s Life of Rossini in which the French writer describes an outing he and his friends took to Lake Como exactly 200 years ago, in the summer of 1814. The party had a wonderful time on the road from Brescia to Como, and an even better time staying at the beautiful inn run by one of Stendhal’s other friends once they got there. That night, … [Read more...]
Splendid second cast shines in PB Opera’s ‘Nabucco’
The “A” cast may have sung Nabucco on Friday night for Palm Beach Opera, but on Saturday night I heard the alpha cast. The company alternates its principals in two casts for each of its full productions and the Saturday lineup featured five incredible voices, “B” cast or no. Giuseppe Verdi’s third opera, Nabucco, began the Romantic period in operatic composition. It nearly … [Read more...]