Peabody Opera Theatre shows off promising talent in 'Don Giovanni'
The deal meant that, for the first time, Peabody Opera Theatre could present some of its work in a full-sized venue, providing a valuable learning experience for voice students, not to mention the conservatory's orchestra. This year's choice would be considered right down the middle in most places, but Mozart's "Don Giovanni" was last staged at the Lyric in 1999, so it seemed almost novel to see it there over the weekend. (The old Baltimore Opera Company was remarkably Mozart-averse.) Sunday afternoon's performance was, on balance, a good showing for Peabody, musically and theatrically. Roger Brunyate, the recently retired, longtime head of the opera program, jumped back into the thick of things to direct, and his professional touch and thoughtfulness could be detected throughout. His concept notably included a wound for Don Giovanni that, Amfortas-like, never healed. (Brunyate credited a recent Salzburg production with giving him the idea to have the antihero wounded in his opening scene duel with the Commendatore.) The device intriguingly suggested that Don Giovanni knew his time was running out, long before a certain statue turned up in his doorway. If a couple of questionable details also popped up in this staging -- Donna Elvira stabbing a portrait of Don Giovanni with giant hairpins was more Carol Burnett than Lorenzo DaPonte, for example, and having her join a nunnery early on seemed a wee bit odd -- Brunyate ensured that the action flowed easily and effectively. Aiding that flow was ... 
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Categories: Clef Notes, Opera, Peabody Institute
Call it retro night at the opera. 
All things considered, the opening of Washington National Opera's season is quite strong, especially in terms of that elusive, hard to pin down concept known as style. 
Six weeks before the opening of Lyric Opera Baltimore's second season, the 
When Francesca Zambello was named artistic advisor to 
Since the death of Puccini, few operas have established a foothold in the standard repertoire. "The Rake's Progress" is one of them.
Washington National Opera's laudable commissioning project, American Opera Initiative, will kick off in the fall with the premiere of three 20-minute works, followed in summer 2013 by an hour-long piece. 
With “Nabucco,” his third opera, Verdi’s career truly began. He would go on to do much finer work, but his talent and potential are unmistakable here. 
Nothing like a perennial favorite and a bit of novelty to pack 'em in. So it was for Baltimore Concert Opera, which gave two SRO performances of "Lucia di Lammermoor" over the weekend, complete with the armonica Donizetti originally intended for the mad scene.
Peabody Opera Theatre is on a roll. In the same season that saw worthy productions of Igor Stravinsky's "The Rake's Progress" and Dominick Argento's "Postcard from Morocco," the company has successfully tackled another demanding 20th-century work, Robert Ward's "The Crucible."
The years after World War II, when Sen. Joseph McCarthy launched his crusade against suspected communists in the government, were filled with intimidation, false accusations and rushes to judgment. 
The tally for 
The music portion of the Kennedy Center's 2012-2013 season, announced Tuesday, includes a rich assortment of repertoire led by Christoph Eschenbach in his third season as music director of the National Symphony Orchestra and a trio of dynamic sopranos fueling Washington National Opera's productions.
Mozart's "Cosi fan tutte," with its wicked libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte, postulates that all women are faithless in love. An absurd notion, of course, as countless men demonstrate day after day. 
Among the six young winners of the 41st annual 
In addition to Winters and Nelson, the 2012 winners are bass-baritone Brandon Cedel, contralto Suzanne Hendrix, mezzo-soprano Margaret Mezzacappa and soprano Chloé Moore. They were chosen from a field of 90 singers. 
Philip Glass secured his notable place in the history of 20th century opera with such epic works as "Einstein on the Beach" and "Satyagraha." 
Some works of art pull you in by the clearest, most direct of means; you know why you're hooked at the start and you know what you've been through when it's all over. 
The early music scene in our region -- the early music scene, period -- is particularly fortunate to have 
This is the so-called "American" Ring, a concept developed by Francesca Zambello, who directed the first three installments in Washington ("Das Rheingold" in 2006, "Die Walküre" in 2007, "Siegfried" in 2009). 
Forgive the abbreviated report (ever the slothful one, I do try to take a day off every now and then), but I wanted to get a little something on the record about Peabody Opera Theater. 
Maybe it's just the contrast with a safe and predictable "La Traviata" the other day in Baltimore that makes the thoroughly unsafe and unpredictable "Lucia di Lammermoor" in DC so much fun. 
Among the many things happening out there these days is Opera Week at Towson University. Even though we're partway through said week, there's still a lot of activity left: 
Baltimore doesn't like to part with beloved, long-established people, places and things. 
When the financially strapped Baltimore Opera Company went into liquidation in 2009, after more than five decades, it seemed unlikely that a new organization would take its place any time soon. But the unlikely has happened. 
OK, Baltimore opera-goers. Listen up. Get those mirrors out well before you leave home on Nov. 4 to attend the opening night of "La Traviata," 
The history of opera has witnessed many great singers whose names continue to resonate through the years and whose artistic standards continue to inspire. Ranking very high on this luminous list is Rosa Ponselle. 
Opera Vivente, which has enlivened the Baltimore scene for 13 years with wide-ranging repertoire and often highly imaginative productions, all performed in English, has cancelled its 2011-2012 season.
The main reason to catch 
When it comes to opera in the summertime around this region, the most notable action is to be found in Northern Virginia. 
File this under Not Surprising, But Disappointing. 
This has turned into a newsy week for Israeli orchestras. 
The novelty factor of Placido Domingo's singing "Rigoletto" for the first time -- the baritone title role, that is -- makes watching the 
Some people wouldn't cross the street to hear an opera. And some opera lovers wouldn't cross the street to hear yet another "La Boheme." 
Founded in 1971 as a free-admission venue, 
If you want to stump your most smug opera-nut friends, just ask them to name more than two works by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari. 
There is a growing chorus of dismay and anger over the dire situation at New York City Opera. 
If you aren't in the habit of excavating the Sun's Web site, you may have missed this: my 
At 7 p.m. at the Kennedy Center, 
Among Handel's numerous operas, "Rinaldo" ranks rather high. 
I've said before that the up-where-the-air-is-rare kind of arts need stars as much as TV and movies do. Stars generate excitement and interest; they raise, or at least solidify, standards (well, they're should). 
Opera is the sum of many parts. A performance of an opera is too, which is why careful assembly is required. 
There was quite an operatic outbreak over the weekend in Baltimore and D.C. It started Friday night (for me) with Peabody Chamber Opera's double bill at the Theatre Project. 
There is some risk involved when orchestras present opera in a concert format. They've got to keep the operatically inclined portion of the audience from feeling short-changed by the lack of scenery and costumes, but they also have to keep the operatically-averse portion of the same audience from feeling threatened or bored. 
Throughout the history of music, you can find composers who enjoyed enormous fame and admiration, only to slip into widespread neglect. Usually, it means that someone more famous and more admired happened along, transforming the style and scope of the art form and changing public tastes in the process. 
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Press releases received Tuesday from Nelson and the Theatre Project both announce that American Opera Theater is "finally hanging up its hat," but "going out with a bang";
Meanwhile, a three-production season for 2011-2012 has been announced, complete with casting info, and, on Sunday night, Lyric Opera Baltimore offered a free concert featuring the soprano who will help inaugurate that season in "La Traviata" -- Elizabeth Futral. 
If you holiday gift list includes an opera fan, might as well jump on the Vittorio bandwagon. Vittorio Grigolo, that is, the young, handsome singer who has the potential to move into the fast track for superstardom. His new Sony Classical release, "Vittorio Grigolo -- The Italian Tenor" -- is a winner. 
Manon Lescaut was the original Material Girl, incapable of resisting glittery possessions or lovers. But, of course, she had a heart of gold, which is why she inspired at least three operas. 
Neatly timed for Halloween, 
In less than 24 hours over the weekend, I had two operatic experiences in Baltimore. Neither left me fully satisfied. 
