Chausson's rarely heard Le Roi Arthus well served at Bard

By Robert Levine, 26 July 2021

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“Chausson's at times dreamy, plush, echt Romantic score was stunningly played by the Orchestra”

Reviewed at Bard College, Fisher Center for the Performing Arts: LUMA Theater, Annandale-on-Hudson on 25 July 2021

Chausson, Le Roi Arthus

Leon Botstein, Conductor

Louisa Proske, Director

Matt Saunders, Set Designer

Norman Garrett, Arthus

Sasha Cooke, Genièvre

Matthew White, Lancelot

Troy Cook, Merlin

Andres Acosta, Le Laboureur

Andrew Bidlack, Lyonnel

Justin Austin, Mordred

Wei Wu, Allan

American Symphony Orchestra

Compelling new opera explores a 300-year-old feminist dream

Kurt Gottschalk, 23rd January

At the center of this production is the centuries-old verse of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, the wondrous voice of Magos Herrera and a richly realized telling of the quest for knowledge.

****1

Child's play: inventive, moving Rinaldo at Glimmerglass

Cameron Kelsall, 31st July

Director Louisa Proske refracts Handel's tale of warlords and witches through the prism of a juvenile dream world, aided by a game cast headed by Anthony Roth Costanzo.

****1

A timely Mother of Us All at the Metropolitan Museum

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The Mother of Us All isn’t an easy work and it’s far from one of Stein’s best pieces of writing. But in this centenary of women’s suffrage, it’s an important one.

***11

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Michael Vieth, 26th May

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****1

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Andrew Larkin, 22nd March

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Magnifying Glass: a magnificent Les Enfants terribles in Lille

Elena Luporini, 20th March

A new production of Les Enfants terribles at the Opéra de Lille drags the audience into a terribly marvelous labyrinth, courtesy of conductor Virginie Déjos and directors Matthias Piro and Lisa Moro.

*****

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Robert Levine

Robert T. Levine is a New York born-and-bred music writer with a particular interest in music for the voice. His work has appeared in many periodicals and newspapers. He is the author of many books, including The Story of the Orchestra, four volumes in the Black Dog & Leventhal Opera Library, and, most recently, Maria Callas: A Musical Biography.