Tony Award winning production of Porgy and Bess arrives in Philadelphia

By Stephen Raskauskas, 20 February 2014

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“Stampley offers a nuanced performance, making the central love story believable, albeit bittersweet.”

Reviewed at Academy of Music, Philadelphia on 18 February 2014

Gershwin, Porgy and Bess

Alicia Hall Moran, Bess

Nathaniel Stampley, Porgy

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

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

Welsh National Opera’s Dutchman docks in Birmingham

Rohan Shotton, 7th May

This bracing performance of The Flying Dutchman is a powerful reminder of the extraordinary musical standards which are at risk in the face of WNO’s subsidy cuts.

****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

Boston Doodle Dandy: Boston Lyric Opera presents La Fille du régiment

Kevin Wells, 1st May

Very few singers can hold an audience in the palm of their hand the way Brenda Rae as Marie does in this rollicking frolic.

****1

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Stephen Raskauskas

Stephen Raskauskas is passionate about the performing arts. As a performer, he has collaborated on productions acclaimed by the Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, and Huffington Post. He has received numerous fellowships and awards, and holds degrees in music from the University of Chicago and Princeton University.