Keeping opera alive
Georgeanne’s post about the non-death of opera sparked quite a bit of discussion. One aspect of the debate is what sort of productions will keep opera companies in business. Do audiences want traditional stagings of popular operas? Restrained stagings of new works? Regietheater with both …
Good versus great
Anyone who goes to theatre or opera frequently is familiar with the all-too-common four-star show. These are great works that have been well-cast, well-sung, well-acted, well-staged, and generally checked all of the boxes… but something is missing that prevents the show from being a completely …
Reports of the Death of Opera Have Been Greatly Exaggerated
“Yeah, but isn’t opera a dying art form?” You can’t browse any classical music blog or arts news section without encountering a thinkpiece on the slow, painful death of opera. These (typically) well-written articles cite sagging ticket sales, shorter seasons, fewer opera companies. They ask …
Auditions: what not to say
It’s audition season at Cambridge again, which means far too much sitting around and nervously chatting with my fellow actors and singers. Some of the things I hear seem calculated to psych me out. (And sometimes, I admit, these sorts of phrases slip out of …
‘La clemenza di Tito’ at the BSO
This past Saturday, the Bayerische Staatsoper (BSO) provided a free, live, online stream of their current production of Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito. As I’ve previously mentioned, Clemenza is trending right now both among opera companies and the online opera fandom. It’s also close to my heart as the …
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