The Classical Review

Light, warmth and mastery from Andsnes at Carnegie Hall

Tuesday night was frigid but there was ample warmth in Carnegie Hall, emanating from the stage where pianist Leif Ove Andsnes was playing. The crowd was unusually thin, likely due to the weather, but ...
The Classical Review

Santa Fe Opera rounds out comeback season with brilliant Verdi and Wagner

Quinn Kelsey stars in the title role of Verdi’s Falstaff at Santa Fe Opera. Photo: Curtis Brown The most complex works on the stage this summer at Santa Fe Opera came at the end of the first full week ...
The Classical Review

Florida Grand Opera’s “Silent Night” proves a rich and moving tale of common humanity

Alex DeSocio (Audebert), Kyle Albertson (Horstmayer) and Elijah William Brown (Jonathan Dale) in Kevin Puts’ Silent Night, presented by Florida Grand Opera at the Arsht Center in Miami. Photo: Lewis ...
The Classical Review

Santa Fe Opera crashes with Bates’ musically inert “(R)evolution of Steve Jobs”

The focus of this season at Santa Fe Opera is the world premiere of The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, the first opera composed by Mason Bates. When the company announced, two years ago, that it was ...
The Classical Review

Santa Fe Opera returns with courageous yet musically flawed premiere of “M. Butterfly”

Kangmin Justin Kim as Song Liling and Mark Stone as René Gallimard in the world premiere of Huang Ruo’s M. Butterfly at Santa Fe Opera. Photo: Curtis Brown The Santa Fe Opera is back. After 2020, the ...
The Classical Review

Santa Fe season of rarities rounded out by a “Rusalka”of probing psychological depth

Ailyn Pérez performed the title role in Dvořák’s Rusalka at Santa Fe Opera. Photo: Curtis Brown/SFO As if there were not enough reasons to visit Santa Fe Opera this summer, the fifth opera of the ...
The Classical Review

Nelsons, cast and BSO give heartfelt and idiomatic advocacy to Barber’s “Vanessa”

Jennifer Holloway (left) in the title role and Samantha Hankey as Erika in Samuel Barber’s Vanessa, performed by Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra Thursday night. Photo: Winslow Townson ...
The Classical Review

Stephen Hough’s new concerto looks to the past as well as the future

Stephen Hough will perform the world premiere of his Piano Concerto, “The World of Yesterday” Friday night with the Utah Symphony led by Donald Runnicles. Sir Stephen Hough’s response as to the ...
The Classical Review

Mäkelä returns to CSO with a thrilling and exuberant Mahler Third

Klaus Mäkelä conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 Thursday night. Photo: Todd Rosenberg One can’t say Klaus Mäkelä is taking the easy road in his concerts leading up to ...
The Classical Review

Rust Belt bel canto: Met provides a dark, mostly compelling update to “Lucia”

Nadine Sierra in the title role of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor at the Metropolitan Opera. Photo: Marty Sohl Cheers greeted Simon Stone and his creative team Saturday night as they walked onstage ...
The Classical Review

William McClelland’s lyrical style shines brightest in vocal works

William McClelland: “Where the Shadow Glides.” Songs, choral music and piano works. New York Virtuoso Singers, Harold Rosenbaum, conductor. Krista River, mezzo ...
The Classical Review

Under Rouvali, Philharmonia sounds fresh and vital on 80th anniversary tour

Santtu-Matias Rouvali conducted the Philharmonia Orchestra Monday night at the Music Center at Strathmore. Photo: Marco Borggreve London’s Philharmonia Orchestra returned to the Washington area for ...