‘Il Trovatore’ at San Francisco Opera

It's all about the voice ... There’s nothing quite like hearing seriously talented singers take on Verdi’s Il Trovatore. With each stunning recitative, cavatina, or aria, the ante is raised, and the next singer must match it...

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‘Patience’ at the Proms

Promming at the Royal Albert Hall Before leaving London after a long summer vacation, I managed a brief glimpse at the BBC Proms, one of the world’s largest classical music festivals. The Proms, which celebrated its 115th anniversary this summer, is a two-month extravaganza with over 100 concerts and events that span the classical music spectrum from the arcane and distinguished to the popular and raucous. The bulk of the concerts are...

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‘As You Like It’ at the Shakespeare Globe Theatre

Recreating Shakespeare One of the best things about being in London, besides the simple fact of being in London, is the opportunity it offers for going to the theater. And chief among its theater delights are productions of Shakespeare. It’s not just a matter of having the right accent; it’s a dedication to the work, which is rightly considered a diamond in England’s tiara and which forms the foundation of many of England’s acting schools. Perhaps ironically, the...

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Saariaho’s ‘L’amour de loin’ at the English National Opera

Love Across Time Last week, in London’s Coliseum, which is the early 20th-century English interpretation of a Roman theatrical arena, quaint with SPQR decorations and patriarchal busts amid red velvet Victorian luxuries and dark wood, I was fortunate to see the English National Opera’s performance of composer Kaija Saariaho’s opera L’Amour de Loin (Love from Afar). ENO has contemporary productions to die for. It’s always great to see new opera, not...

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foolsFURY Factory Festival

Physical theater and performance The room we are milling around in is a small black box. On three walls are projected newsreel footage from World War II. Nazis march in lines, Churchill stands before an assembly, J. Robert Oppenheimer...

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