A ghost of an opera at BAM

By Jacob Slattery, 09 September 2016

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Reviewed at BAM: Howard Gilman Opera House, New York City on 7 September 2016

Lang, The Loser

Karina Canellakis, Conductor

David Lang, Director

Jim Findlay, Set Designer

Suzanne Bocanegra, Costume Designer

Jennifer Tipton, Lighting Designer

Jody Elff, Sound Design

Conrad Tao, Piano

Rod Gilfry, Narrator

Bang on a Can All-Stars

collected stories draws to a close with John Cage and a David Lang world première

Rebecca Lentjes, 29th April

David Lang’s curated series collected stories drew to a close with three works by John Cage, including his autobiographical lecture Indeterminacy of 1958, performed simultaneously, and the world première of Lang’s own mystery sonatas, the only work of his own to be programmed for the series.

*****

Chasing the American Dream: UK premiere for Missy Mazzoli’s Proving Up

Mark Pullinger, 1st June

Amy Lane directs an intimate staging of Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek’s 2018 chamber opera in the compact Milton Court Theatre.

****1

Longborough Festival Opera season starts slow with Orlando

Eleanor Knight, 30th May

Beth Taylor gives the lows and highs of Handel's heroics an almighty, whole-body shakedown in Sinéad O'Neill’s new staging of Handel's Orlando.

***11

Viennese splendour in Garsington’s Rosenkavalier revival

Roy Westbrook, 28th May

Bruno Ravella's splendid 2021 production of Strauss' opera of Viennese manners returns with a fine cast.

****1

Bang! Mozart’s volcano erupts in Opera Holland Park’s Così fan tutte

Peter Quantrill, 28th May

Mount Vesuvius looms over Cecilia Stinton’s compelling new production of Così fan tutte.

****1

A witty hotel Don Giovanni opens Blackwater Valley Festival

Andrew Larkin, 27th May

Tom Creed’s witty production at Lismore Castle delivers strong singing, sharp comedy and lively orchestral playing, even if the opera’s darker supernatural edges are somewhat diminished.

****1

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Jacob Slattery

Jacob is a musician and raconteur based out of New York City. As a writer, he operates an online arts and culture blog with the goal of providing momentum for community-based arts projects in NYC. As an oboist, Jacob has performed internationally with orchestras from Vienna to Seoul. Born and raised in the lake-ridden, gopher empire of Minnesota, Jacob received a dual-degree in Music Performance and Marketing from Augsburg College in Minneapolis. His blog can be found here.

A ghost of an opera: David Lang’s disappointing the loser premieres at BAM