A truly great Gatsby: John Harbison's opera gets a thrilling performance in Boston

By Roger Smith, 10 June 2013

Loading, please wait...

See full listing

Reviewed at New England Conservatory: Jordan Hall, Boston on 12 May 2013

Harbison, The Great Gatsby

Gordon Gietz, Jay Gatsby

Devon Guthrie, Daisy Guthrie

Alex Richardson, Tom Buchanan

David Kravitz, Nick Carraway

Krista River, Jordan Baker

David Cushing, George Wilson

Katherine Growdon, Myrtle Wilson

Charles Blandy, Tenor

Lynn Torgove, Mezzo-soprano

James Maddalena, Baritone

Donald Wilkinson, Bass

Dana Whiteside, Baritone

Ryan Turner, Conductor

Orchestra of Emmanuel Music

Chorus of Emmanuel Music

Werther oozes quiet despair in new Canadian Opera Company staging

John Gilks, 7th May

Excellent performances cannot turn a conventional production of Massenet’s Werther into a dramatic experience for the 21st century.

***11

Rossini's Cenerentola proves great fun in Adelaide

Sandra Bowdler, 7th May

Neil Armfield's production for State Opera South Australia combines a sparkling night of entertainment with first class musical values.

****1

Peter Grimes drops anchor again at The Royal Opera

Christopher Woodley, 5th May

Allan Clayton and Sir Bryn Terfel lead a strong cast in a revival of Deborah Warner's dark staging of Britten's signature work at Covent Garden.

****1

The early flowering of opera: a fragrant L’Orfeo at Schwetzingen

Mengguang Huang, 3rd May

Markus Bothe’s Botticelli-inspired production fuses tableau vivant aesthetics with Jörg Halubek’s surgical musical precision, offering a peerless, vivid tribute to the fragrant dawn of opera.

****1

Two funerals and a bedding at the Linbury Theatre

Eleanor Knight, 1st May

Tales of love and loss as operas by Elena Langer, Charlotte Bray and Elizabeth Maconchy form a varied triple bill in this showcase for The Royal Opera’s Jette Parker Artists.

****1

Deep into the American psyche: Carlisle Floyd’s Of Mice and Men

Hilary Stroh, 1st May

Carlisle Floyd's operatic setting of John Steinbeck’s classic novella is given a new production in the composer's centenary year at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City.

****1

More reviews...

Roger Smith

Roger Smith was born in London and studied for BA in Music at Kingston University, followed by an MMus in Music Theory and Analysis at Goldsmiths College. He studied opera at Birkbeck College, the City Lit and Morley College.