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Questionable morels: Lady Macbeth in Leipzig

By Mark Pullinger, 25 May 2025

Two notable debuts dominate Oper Leipzig's notable Lady Macbeth revival: Kristine Opolais as Katerina and Andris Nelsons in the pit.

****1

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****1

Leipzig

26 May 2025

Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk at Oper Leipzig

By Mark Pullinger

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New York City

Angel Blue shines in the Met’s glitzy new Aida

By Susan Stempleski, 31 December 2024

The American soprano heads an uneven cast in Michael Mayer’s archeologically inspired staging of Verdi’s great tale of love, war and betrayal.

***11

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***11

New York City

01 Jan 2025

Angel Blue shines in the Met’s glitzy new Aida

By Susan Stempleski

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New York City

Passion, savagery and humor: Shostakovich from the Boston Symphony at Carnegie Hall

By Susan Stempleski, 30 January 2024

Andris Nelsons leads the Boston Symphony in a thrilling concert performance of Dmitri Shostakovich’s1932 potboiler.

****1

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New York City

01 Feb 2024

Passion, savagery and humor: Boston Symphony at Carnegie Hall

By Susan Stempleski

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New York City

Superb singing enlivens static production: Nabucco revived at the Met

By Susan Stempleski, 28 September 2023

With Liudmyla Monastyrska and George Gagnidze leading the cast, the Met revives Elijah Moshinsky’s 2001 staging of Verdi’s biblical epic under the baton of Daniele Callegari.

***11

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***11

New York City

29 Sep 2023

Superb singing enlivens static production: Nabucco revived at the Met

By Susan Stempleski

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New York City

François Girard’s Holländer returns to the Met

By Susan Stempleski, 03 June 2023

Tomasz Konieczny, as the enigmatic mariner condemned to sail the seas forever, heads a superb cast in this Met Opera revival of François Girard’s murky production of Wagner’s early masterpiece.

****1

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New York City

04 Jun 2023

François Girard’s Holländer returns to the Met

By Susan Stempleski

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Milan

A gloomy, dark Vespri siciliani at La Scala

By Laura Servidei, 01 February 2023

A somewhat disappointing new production by Hugo de Ana brings I vespri siciliani back to La Scala, where Fabio Luisi leads a successful musical production with a great cast.

***11

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***11

Milan

03 Feb 2023

A gloomy, dark Vespri siciliani at La Scala

By Laura Servidei

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Rome

Angels and demons: Giovanna d'Arco marks the reopening of Rome's Teatro Costanzi

By Elena Luporini, 17 October 2021

After a fifty-year absence from Roman stages, Verdi's opera about the Maid of Orléans makes an appearance at Teatro dell'Opera under the conduction of Daniele Gatti.

****1

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Rome

18 Oct 2021

Angels and demons: Giovanna d'Arco marks a Rome reopening

By Elena Luporini

Amsterdam

A monolithic Nabucco at Dutch National Opera

By Jenny Camilleri, 27 January 2020

A promising cast on paper is scuppered by a banal, monotonous production and uninspired conducting.

**111

**111

Amsterdam

28 Jan 2020

A monolithic Nabucco at Dutch National Opera

By Jenny Camilleri

Madrid

Don Carlo doesn't find his place in Madrid

By Fernando Remiro, 21 September 2019

Sir David McVicar's unassuming production fails to engage with the political side of Verdi's masterpiece, despite good conducting by Nicola Luisotti and some good singing by a solid cast.

***11

***11

Madrid

23 Sep 2019

Don Carlo doesn't find his place in Madrid

By Fernando Remiro

New York City

A colorless Don Giovanni at the Metropolitan Opera

By Edward Sava-Segal, 15 April 2019

The Met's spectators love Mozart’s opera, but they deserve an updated staging.

***11

***11

New York City

17 Apr 2019

A colorless Don Giovanni at the Metropolitan Opera

By Edward Sava-Segal

New York City

At The Met, Netrebko triumphs as Aida, with Rachvelishvili a powerful rival

By Ako Imamura, 26 September 2018

Netrebko met the audience’s high expectations, as she does every time, conquering the challenges with her remarkable artistry.

*****

*****

New York City

27 Sep 2018

Netrebko triumphs as Aida at The Met

By Ako Imamura

New York City

A chiaroscuro-free, shiny Samson et Dalila at The Met

By Robert Levine, 24 September 2018

The Met's new season opens with a new Samson et Dalila only marginally more trashy than Saint-Saëns’ peculiar brand of kitschy orientalism.

***11

***11

New York City

25 Sep 2018

A chiaroscuro-free, shiny Samson et Dalila at The Met

By Robert Levine

New York City

Superb Yoncheva and Beczała in The Met's Luisa Miller, anchored by Domingo

By Robert Levine, 02 April 2018

The role of Luisa, some of the daintier coloratura aside, fits Sonya Yoncheva like a glove.

*****

*****

New York City

03 Apr 2018

Superb Yoncheva and Beczała in Met's Luisa Miller

By Robert Levine

Milan

Myung-whun Chung's Simon Boccanegra is worth a watch at La Scala

By James Imam, 08 February 2018

If Chung is sometimes hailed as the greatest living conductor of Verdi, here was a performance to support that claim.

***11

***11

Milan

09 Feb 2018

Chung's Simon Boccanegra is worth a watch

By James Imam

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Paris

Gold-plated Don Carlos cast compensates for Warlikowski’s frosty Paris staging

By Mark Pullinger, 28 October 2017

Krzysztof Warlikowski’s new Paris staging of Verdi's epic Don Carlos is cold and glassy, but the vocal performances at the Bastille more than compensate.

***11

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***11

Paris

31 Oct 2017

Gold-plated cast compensates for frosty staging

By Mark Pullinger

Salzburg

Netrebko triumphs as musical performances transcend Salzburg Festival staging of Aida

By James Imam, 09 August 2017

Muti's reading of the score is extraordinary, both for its sophistication and originality.

****1

****1

Salzburg

12 Aug 2017

Netrebko triumphs as Aida

By James Imam

Chicago

Minimalist Onegin on the Lyric Opera stage

By Dan Wang, 26 February 2017

The finale was the dramatic and musical high of the night, when both Ana María Martínez and Mariusz Kwiecień let themselves cut loose, laying waste to the bare stage.

***11

***11

Chicago

02 Mar 2017

Minimalist Onegin on the Lyric Opera stage

By Dan Wang

New York City

A Nabucco lacking a central baritone at The Met

By Robert Levine, 12 December 2016

Elijah Moshinsky’s 15-year old production of Verdi’s Nabucco has returned to the Met, ostensibly as a vehicle for Placido Domingo.

***11

***11

New York City

13 Dec 2016

A Nabucco lacking a central baritone at The Met

By Robert Levine

New York City

Met's revival of Aida an occasion to celebrate an enduring masterpiece

By Ako Imamura, 05 November 2016

The return of the Met's Aida was a joyous celebration of the art form with excellent singers and orchestra doing what they do best against the backdrop of a traditional but effective staging.

***11

***11

New York City

08 Nov 2016

An occasion to celebrate an enduring masterpiece

By Ako Imamura

Chicago

Muti and CSO plumb the dramatic depths of Berlioz’s Roméo et Juliette

By Sam Jacobson, 07 April 2016

After being absent since December, music director Riccardo Muti returned to Chicago Symphony in a passionate account of the epic Roméo et Juliette by Berlioz.

****1

****1

Chicago

13 Apr 2016

Plumbing the dramatic depths of Berlioz’s Roméo et Juliette

By Sam Jacobson

Chicago

A strongly cast Nabucco opens at Lyric Opera of Chicago

By Dan Wang, 23 January 2016

The Lyric Opera put together the best-sounding première of the year so far, in which singers, chorus and the orchestra all began with astonishing confidence and only improved from there.

****1

****1

Chicago

26 Jan 2016

A strongly cast Nabucco opens at Lyric Opera of Chicago

By Dan Wang

Milan

Angels and Demons: Verdi's Giovanna d'Arco at La Scala

By David Karlin, 18 December 2015

Verdi's take on the Joan of Arc story may be thin on drama, but outstanding playing from Riccardo Chailly and the La Scala orchestra and top notch singing from Netrebko, Meli and Álvarez make this a wonderful Verdian evening.

****1

****1

Milan

19 Dec 2015

Angels and Demons: Giovanna d'Arco at La Scala

By David Karlin

Houston

Houston Grand Opera's Eugene Onegin stars an unlikely hero

By Sydney Boyd, 30 October 2015

Re-imagining this opera with Prince Gremin as the show-stealer was no doubt a happy accident.

****1

****1

Houston

31 Oct 2015

HGO's Onegin stars an unlikely hero

By Sydney Boyd

Houston

A timeless Tosca at Houston Grand Opera

By Sydney Boyd, 23 October 2015

Houston Grand Opera’s season-opening production of the fiery opera does it right, from lighting to set to singing, and the end result is a stunning beginning to its season.

***11

***11

Houston

24 Oct 2015

A timeless Tosca at Houston Grand Opera

By Sydney Boyd

Verona

A Babylonian extravaganza: epic Nabucco at the Arena di Verona

By James Imam, 18 July 2015

De Bosio's highly traditional reading of Nabucco takes blockbuster form, aided by Veronese architect Rinaldo Olivieri's sets, which are at once epic and pragmatic.

***11

***11

Verona

20 Jul 2015

A Babylonian extravaganza: epic Nabucco in Verona

By James Imam

Turin

Teatro Regio joins Expo’s cultural wave with a flavourless Norma

By Edoardo Pelligra, 17 July 2015

Visually traditional, this Norma often indulged on the most predictable aspects of Vincenzo Bellini’s opera, unfortunately missing the opportunity of bringing a bigger audience to the theatre and showcasing the vastness of Italian opera.

**111

**111

Turin

19 Jul 2015

Teatro Regio joins Expo’s cultural wave with a flavourless Norma

By Edoardo Pelligra

New York City

Luca Salsi replaces ailing Domingo in the Met's "Ernani"

By Jacob Slattery, 04 April 2015

Placido Domingo was "suffering from a bad cold" on Saturday afternoon, so baritone Luca Salsi, scheduled to sing Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor later that night, put on the costume and delivered a convincing last minute Don Carlo in Verdi's Ernani.

***11

***11

New York City

06 Apr 2015

Luca Salsi replaces ailing Domingo in the Met's "Ernani"

By Jacob Slattery

New York City

The Met's Aida offers stunning singing and spectacle

By Stephen Raskauskas, 30 October 2014

Verdi’s Aida has been performed over 1,000 times at the Metropolitan Opera, making it the most commonly revived work after Puccini’s La bohème. Because Aida is so regularly programmed, I usually walk rather than run to see this opera.

***11

***11

New York City

01 Nov 2014

The Met's Aida offers stunning singing and spectacle

By Stephen Raskauskas

London

Prom 75: A joyous Ninth from Alan Gilbert and the Gewandhaus

By Gavin Dixon, 12 September 2014

Not everything worked in Gilbert's Beethoven Nine, but the stunning finale redeemed all.

****1

****1

London

13 Sep 2014

A Joyous Ninth from Alan Gilbert and the Gewandhaus

By Gavin Dixon

Naples

Look back in sorrow: Onegin's icy heart melts in Naples

By Lorenzo Fiorito, 02 March 2014

Eugene Onegin: regrets, broken dreams and sorrow are perfectly rendered in this staging, as the callous dandy's icy heart eventually melts.

****1

****1

Naples

04 Mar 2014

Look back in sorrow: Onegin's icy heart melts in Naples

By Lorenzo Fiorito

Chicago

Small moments make the whole in Muti's Macbeth with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

By John Dorhauer, 01 October 2013

According to Riccardo Muti in a recent interview for Chicago Classical Review, the cardinal sins of modern conductors when interpreting Verdi are over-aggression and vulgarity. He also notes in an interview included in the concert program that one of the most unique aspects of Macbeth is its use of expressively soft dynamics, even going as far to call the technique avant-garde.

****1

****1

Chicago

04 Oct 2013

Small moments make the whole in Muti's Macbeth with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

By John Dorhauer

Salzburg

Riccardo Muti conducts an impressive Verdi's Requiem at the Salzburg Festival

By Benedetta Saglietti, 15 August 2013

Apart from the precious Quattro pezzi sacri, Verdi wrote very little sacred music until this Requiem, probably due to his agnosticism. When Alessandro Manzoni, one of the most important and admired Italian literary figures, died on the 22nd of May 1873, Verdi felt that something in the Italian cultural world had come to an end.

****1

****1

Salzburg

21 Aug 2013

Riccardo Muti conducts an impressive Verdi's Requiem at the Salzburg Festival

By Benedetta Saglietti

Vienna

These are not your father's Huns: Konwitschny's bold new Attila at Theater an der Wien

By Chanda VanderHart, 10 July 2013

Giuseppe Verdi’s Attila is not an opera that one hears often. Composed during his self-styled “galley period” – before he found his mature musical voice with Rigoletto – Attila has inherent musical and dramaturgical weaknesses. With one foot still firmly rooted in bel canto tradition, the numerous cabalettas can be exhausting, even ridiculous, considering the dramatic nature of the text.

****1

****1

Vienna

12 Jul 2013

These are not your father's Huns: Konwitschny's bold new Attila at Theater an der Wien

By Chanda VanderHart

Washington

Unrealized potential: Angela Meade debuts in Norma at the Washington National Opera

By Simon Chin, 09 March 2013

The title role of Bellini’s Norma is one of the most challenging roles in the female repertory. It has been called the most profound portrayal of womanhood in all of opera. It demands a dramatic coloratura soprano with immense vocal power, rare agility, a wide dynamic range, a broad palette of vocal coloration, and instinctive theatricality.

***11

***11

Washington

12 Mar 2013

Unrealized potential: Angela Meade debuts in Norma at the Washington National Opera

By Simon Chin

Vienna

Iolanta and Francesca da Rimini strongly sung in Vienna

By Zwölftöner, 29 January 2012

Iolanta and Francesca da Rimini work particularly well as a double bill because both works share the theme of lovers who find themselves at the mercy of possessive forces. Iolanta's domineering father ultimately yields in Tchaikovsky's opera, but in Rachmaninov's the deceitful Lanceotto is not so accommodating.

****1

****1

Vienna

01 Feb 2012

Iolanta and Francesca da Rimini strongly sung in Vienna

By Zwölftöner