Rare Dido and Bluebeard double bill an odd dichotomy

By Matthew Richard Martinez, 27 October 2014

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Reviewed at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles on 25 October 2014

Purcell, Dido and Aeneas

Bartók, Duke Bluebeard's Castle

LA Opera

Steven Sloane, Conductor

Barrie Kosky, Director

Katrin Lea Tag, Set Designer, Costume Designer

Paula Murrihy, Dido

Liam Bonner, Aeneas

Kateryna Kasper, Belinda

Summer Hassan, 2nd Woman

John Holiday, Sorceress

G Thomas Allen, 1st Enchantress

Darryl Taylor, 2nd Enchantress

Claudia Mahnke, Judith

Robert Hayward, Bluebeard

La bohème as escapist epic at LA Opera

Néstor Castiglione, 22nd November

Puccini's tale of bohemian love lives on at the Dorothy Chandler as LA Opera launches its 2025-26 season.

****1

LA Opera’s Rigoletto: a feast for the ears – and the mind

Matthew Richard Martinez, 31st May

Quinn Kelsey shines as Verdi’s court jester as Tomer Zvulun's production opens in Los Angeles.

****1

Mozart meets Gatsby in LA Opera’s new Così fan tutte

Laurence Vittes, 8th March

Michael Cavanagh's sleek new production, designed by Erhard Rom and conducted by James Conlon, transforms the 18th-century opera into a Broadway musical, score by Mozart.

****1

Compelling Turandot as LA Opera imports Hockney designs

Matthew Richard Martinez, 18th May

Angela Meade and Russell Thomas provide the vocal fireworks in LA Opera's staging of David Hockney's beloved production designs.

***11

Book of Mountains and Seas reaches the American Pacific

Katherine Syer, 10th April

Time is suspended in Huang Ruo and Basil Twist's meditative, 80-minute stagework, now receiving its West Coast premiere.

****1

LA Opera’s new Traviata lacks fizz

Matthew Richard Martinez, 6th April

Shawna Lucey's production from San Francisco Opera misses the mark as it premieres to a packed Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

*1111

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Matthew Richard Martinez

A professional conductor living in Costa Mesa, California, Matthew received Bachelor of Music and MFA degrees from University of California, Irvine. An avid sports fan, when he’s not conducting or listening to music, he can be found cheering for his hometown San Diego Padres.