Living at the Opera

The unending close-ups and ‘pseudo-artistic’ camera angles shot by video director, Gary Halvorson, came close to deflating the emotion out of the February 7th Telecast of G. Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. In Act One, he ran so many quick facial shots, it seemed there was one for each musical measure. He also interjected some unwieldy [...]

By Bernard Jacobson
Reprinted with permission from Seen and Heard – Music Web’s Live Opera, Concert and Recital Reviews.
Ensemble La Venexiana, cond. and dir. Claudio Cavina, The Moore Theater, Seattle, 8.2.2009 (BJ)
The Early Music Guild and its executive director, August Denhard, put Seattle much in their debt with a three-performance visit by the Venetian [...]

By Harvey Steiman
Reprinted with permission from Seen and Heard – Music Web’s Live Opera, Concert and Recital Reviews.
Danielle de Niese, soprano; Ken Noda, piano; presented by Cal Performances, Hertz Hall, University of California at Berkeley. 8.2.2009 (HS)
Danielle de Niese, best known for her glittering stage presence in Handel operas, opened her recital Sunday in Berkeley, [...]

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, Sir Andrew Davis (conductor) Lyric Opera Center Chicago 31.1.2009 (JLZ)
Production:
Director: José María Condemi
Stage, Set and Costume Design: David Hockney
Lighting: Duane Schuler
Chorus Master: Donald Nally
Conductor: Sir Andrew Davis
Cast:
Isolde: [...]