Living at the Opera

“I’ve always wanted to be a singer ever since I was a little kid; I first sang in public when I was in kindergarten,” declares Panuccio, as if he never had any doubt about what he wanted to do in life. It’s the day after his debut with the Arizona Opera Company in early October, and he’s relaxing over lunch at Cuvee, one of Tucson’s pleasant eateries, enjoying a salad and a glass of red wine. “It’s okay to have a glass now that the performance is over,” hinting at a life filled with hard work, but not one without enjoyment.

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By James L Zychowicz

Reprinted with permission from Seen and Heard - Music Web’s Live Opera, Concert and Recital Reviews

Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of Lyric Opera of Chicago, Chicago Children’s Choir, Sir Andrew Davis (conductor) Lyric Opera Center, Chicago 13.10.2007 (JLZ)

Production: Stage Director – Renata Scotto
Set and Costume Design - Pier Luigi Pizzi
Lighting - Christine Binder
Chorus Master - Donald Nally

Cast: Mimí - Elaine Alvarez
Musetta – Nicole Cabell
Rodolfo – Roberto Aronica
Marcello – Quinn Kelsey
Colline - Andrea Silvestrelli
Schaunard – Levi Hernandez
Benoit/Alcindoro – Dale Travis

Rodolfo – Roberto Aronica and Mimí - Elaine Alvarez

Among the delights of the 2007-2008 season of Lyric Opera of Chicago is its exceptional production of Puccini’s La bohème (1897). With attention to all the details of this familiar opera, this finely cast and well-executed production conveys a sense of excitement to the work. It is, after all, solid theater with excellent music, yet La bohème also requires a highly talented and experienced cast to elicit the strong response that the audience gave on Saturday and throughout this run of performances. As much as La Bohème is a staple of modern opera repertoire, a finely nuanced production like the present one offered by Lyric Opera of Chicago, will remain in memory for years.

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By Harvey Steiman

Reprinted with permission from Seen and Heard - Music Web’s Live Opera, Concert and Recital Reviews

Renee Fleming, soprano; music of Copeland, Seeger, Adams, Ravel, Puccini and Prokofiev. Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, 19.9.2007 (HS)

Leave it to Michael Tilson Thomas to put together an opening-night gala program that proves you don’t have to dumb things down for the big spenders, even if you want to keep things in a party mood. It didn’t hurt that most of the program involved music the orchestra had been playing on its three-week European tour, and they were in prime form.

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