Events Reviews Articles Video

Boston Lyric Opera finds new ways to break hearts in Madama Butterfly

By Susan Blood, 06 November 2012

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Reviewed at Boch Center: Shubert Theater, Boston on 2 November 2012

Puccini, Madama Butterfly

Boston Lyric Opera

Andrew Bisantz, Conductor

Lillian Groag, Director

John Conklin, Set Designer

Vania Dinyar, Pinkerton

Michael Colvin, Goro

Kelley O'Connor, Suzuki

Weston Hurt, Sharpless

Yunah Lee, Cio-Cio-San (Madama Butterfly)

David Cushing, The Bonze

David McFerrin, Prince Yamadori

Nicole Rodin, Kate Pinkerton

Boston Lyric Opera Orchestra

Boston Lyric Opera’s Macbeth is hobbled by miscalculations

Kevin Wells, 10th October

David Angus leads a taut, spirited performance, but Steve Maler’s staging of Verdi's first Shakespearean opera raises many questions.

**111

Korngold’s Die tote Stadt, more alive than ever in Boston

Cameron Kelsall, 30th January

The composer's magnum opus, unjustly neglected in English-speaking countries, receives magnificent treatment from Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, anchored by David Butt Philip and Christine Goerke.

*****

Flawed staging, compelling singing: Eurydice at Boston Lyric Opera

Kevin Wells, 10th March

Conducting a reduced version of his own opera, Matthew Aucoin's Eurydice still packs a big punch.

***11

Beantown rags to riches: BLO’s Cenerentola an unalloyed delight

Kevin Wells, 12th November

Impeccable ensemble work in Dawn M Simmons' first foray into opera.

*****

Harrowing intimacy: Boston Lyric Opera’s Bluebeard’s Castle

Kevin Wells, 26th March

Boston Lyric Opera decamps to a 1919 wharf shed for a production of Bartók's eerie two-hander, framed by four of Alma Mahler's songs.

****1

Merrily We Roll Puccini: Boston Lyric presents Bohème in reverse

Kevin Wells, 30th September

Yuval Sharon’s production of La bohème turns the opera upside down... with captivating consequences.

****1

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Susan Blood

Susan's experience includes art school administration, gallery management, music publicity and journalism which you can find in print and online with her blog here. As a reviewer she has attended theater, opera, ballet and symphony all her life and loves having the opportunity to share it with others.