Curtis Opera Theatre does Barbiere... and Rossini wins

By Susan Gould, 27 November 2019

Loading, please wait...

See full listing

Reviewed at Kimmel Center, Perelman Theater, Philadelphia on 22 November 2019

Rossini, Il barbiere di Siviglia

Curtis Opera Theatre

Christian Capocaccia, Conductor

Chas Rader-Shieber, Director

Jacob A. Climer, Set Designer, Costume Designer

Sage DeAgro-Ruopp, Rosina

Efrain Corralejo, Count Almaviva

Charles Buttigieg, Figaro

Adam Kiss, Dr Bartolo

Thomas Petrushka, Don Basilio

Olivia Smith, Berta

Evan Gray, Fiorello

Curtis Symphony Orchestra

Albert Herring earns the crown at Curtis Opera Theatre

Cameron Kelsall, 5th March

Benjamin Britten's comic slice of country life proves an ideal choice for the conservatory setting.

****1

Mozart's Don Giovanni overwhelmed by pianos

Susan Gould, 8th March

Curtis Institute singers and orchestra rescue Mozart's Don Giovanni from being overwhelmed by pianos.

**111

Curtis Opera Theater's Ariadne auf Naxos

David Browning, 4th March

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale about a great conservatory production of Ariadne auf Naxos, with wonderful singing and visual delights aplenty.

****1

Pinchgut takes on Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria

David Larkin, 13th June

Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria is given the Pinchgut treatment, with an abstract staging complementing historically informed music-making under Erin Helyard.

****1

Hasse's Artaserse receives its Australian première

Sandra Bowdler, 29th November

Perhaps Pinchgut Opera's finest production to date, a brave presentation of a classic Baroque opera, little heard in Australia apart from Handel, benefits from the star presence of Vivca Genaux in splendid form.

*****

Sublimely ridiculous: Grétry’s L’Amant jaloux

David Larkin, 6th December

Another ancient hit revived and delivered with panache by Sydney-based Pinchgut Opera: Gretry's L'Amant jaloux (1778) proved it still could raise laughs, aided by a superb cast.

****1

More reviews...

Susan Gould

Philadelphia native Susan Gould has been writing professionally about classical music since her Barnard College years in New York. She has written for both American and European publications, primarily during fifteen years in Europe, and has done liner notes for recordings and program notes for opera companies and orchestras. Among those she has interviewed have been Sills, Tebaldi, Popp and Fleming; Bumbry, Ludwig, Fassbaender, and von Stade; del Monaco, Kraus and Pavarotti; Prey, Morris and Ramey; Muti, Abbado, Giulini, Sawallisch, and Eschenbach. Fluent in Italian, German and French, she has coached both student and professional singers in foreign-language diction since 1980.