Handel's Xerxes comes to Glimmerglass

By Gregory Moomjy, 24 August 2017

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Reviewed at Alice Busch Opera Theater, Cooperstown on 18 August 2017

Handel, Serse (Xerxes)

Glimmerglass Opera

Nicole Paiement, Conductor

Tazewell Thompson, Director

John Conklin, Set Designer

Sara Jean Tosetti, Costume Designer

John Holiday, Serse

Allegra De Vita, Arsamene

Emily Pogorelc, Romilda

Abigail Dock, Amastre

Katrina Galka, Atalanta

Brent Michael Smith, Ariodate

Calvin Griffin, Elviro

A dark, delicious take on Elizabeth Cree at Glimmerglass Festival

Cameron Kelsall, 28th July

Mezzo-soprano Tara Erraught anchors a fluid and appealingly staged new production of Kevin Puts' penny dreadful.

****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

Simon Godwin directs Gounod's Roméo et Juliette at Glimmerglass

Edward Sava-Segal, 30th July

The English theatre directs turns his hand to opera with a staging of Gounod's take on Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers.

****1

Brian Vu and Meredith Arwady shine in Glimmerglass Candide

David Wolfson, 8th July

Glimmerglass Opera Festival’s production of Candide leans heavily on a dry comedic sensibility, which most of the cast execute admirably.

***11

Carmen at Glimmerglass: visually striking, dramatically inconsistent

Cameron Kelsall, 18th July

Denyce Graves, once the reigning Carmen of her day, directs a new production full of interesting choices that rarely cohere.

**111

A streamlined Trovatore at the Glimmerglass Festival

Cameron Kelsall, 7th August

Rising mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis offers a gorgeously sung and grippingly acted portrait of Verdi's gypsy.

****1

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Gregory Moomjy

Gregory Moomjy is a graduate of Fordham University with a degree in Musicology and a graduate of Columbia University with a Master’s of Science in Journalism. He has written many reviews and commentary on opera for a variety of publications including New Jersey Monthly, Salon, PC Gamer, and Mexico’s Pro Ópera. He currently resides in New York City.