Live, Video: Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | Richard Trey Smagur

Showing 9 of 9 reviews

Simon O'Neill (Jimmy MacIntyre) © Tristram Kenton

English National Opera’s Mahagonny: biting, bleak, brilliantly executed satire

By David Karlin, 16 February 2026

Never has Brecht and Weill’s satire on the inhumanity of man to man been render with such utter darkness; Simon O’Neill heads up a superb cast.

*****

*****

London

16 Feb 2026

ENO’s Mahagonny: biting, bleak, brilliantly executed satire

By David Karlin

Jennifer Davis (Jenůfa) © ENO | Ellie Kurtz

London

Beneath the ice: a triumphant revival of Jenůfa at English National Opera

By Dominic Lowe, 13 March 2024

David Alden's production is a vivid telling of Janáček's devastating village drama. With a terrific cast and a splendid performance from the pit, this revival is an unalloyed artistic success.

****1

****1

London

13 Mar 2024

Beneath the ice: a triumphant revival of ENO's Jenůfa

By Dominic Lowe

Lise Davidsen (Jenůfa) and Nina Stemme (Kostelnička) © Michael Brosilow

Chicago

Davidsen and Stemme anchor an extraordinary Jenůfa at Lyric Opera of Chicago

By Cameron Kelsall, 12 November 2023

Claus Guth's production foregrounds the regimented, repressive world that drives the plot of Janáček’s tragic masterpiece.

*****

*****

Chicago

12 Nov 2023

Davidsen and Stemme anchor an extraordinary Jenůfa in Chicago

By Cameron Kelsall

Quinn Kelsey (Simon Boccanegra) © Steven Pisano

Philadelphia

Quinn Kelsey triumphs in Opera Philadelphia's Simon Boccanegra

By Cameron Kelsall, 22 September 2023

In his role debut as the Genoan Doge, the American baritone continues to burnish his bona fides as the premier Verdi baritone of his generation.

****1

****1

Philadelphia

22 Sep 2023

Quinn Kelsey triumphs in Opera Philadelphia's Simon Boccanegra

By Cameron Kelsall

Tomasz Konieczny (Holländer) and Elza van den Heever (Senta) © Ken Howard | Met Opera

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

****1

New York City

03 Jun 2023

François Girard’s Holländer returns to the Met

By Susan Stempleski

Houston

A delightful, updated Hansel and Gretel in Houston for young and old

By Zenaida des Aubris, 28 May 2021

Houston Grand Opera's new production is fully digital combining live singing with animated backgrounds.

*****

*****

Houston

28 May 2021

A delightful, updated Hansel and Gretel in Houston for young and old

By Zenaida des Aubris

Atlanta

A modern staging for Atlanta Opera's Carmen

By William E Ford, 15 April 2021

General and Artistic Director Tomer Zvulun unleashes an unending flow of creativity and originality in The Threepenny Carmen.

*****

*****

Atlanta

15 Apr 2021

A modern staging for Atlanta Opera's Carmen

By William E Ford

Atlanta

Pagliacci takes to the Big Top in Atlanta

By William E Ford, 30 October 2020

The Atlanta Opera presents a superior live production of Leoncavallo's Pagliacci to a masked, socially distanced audience.

*****

*****

Atlanta

30 Oct 2020

Pagliacci takes to the Big Top in Atlanta

By William E Ford

Santa Fe

The Golden Cockerel soars in Santa Fe

By Ilana Walder-Biesanz, 19 July 2017

Santa Fe Opera's colorful and beautifully sung The Golden Cockerel makes a case for more Rimsky-Korsakov opera in the repertoire.

****1

****1

Santa Fe

19 Jul 2017

The Golden Cockerel soars in Santa Fe

By Ilana Walder-Biesanz