WNO's Samson et Dalila shows how sweet love's poison can sound

By Sydney Boyd, 02 March 2020

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“the third act Bacchanale struck thrilling tempos and sexy phrasing”

Reviewed at Kennedy Center: Opera House, Washington on 1 March 2020

Saint-Saëns, Samson et Dalila

Washington National Opera

John Fiore, Conductor

Peter Kazaras, Director

Erhard Rom, Set Designer

Michael Scott-Mitchell, Costume Designer

Roberto Aronica, Samson

J'Nai Bridges, Dalila

Noel Bouley, High Priest of Dagon

Tómas Tómasson, Abimélech

Peter Volpe, The Old Hebrew

Eric Sean Fogel, Choreography, Associate Director

Robert Wierzel, Lighting Designer

S Katy Tucker, Projection Design

Washington National Opera Chorus

Washington National Opera Orchestra

Washington National Opera marches onward with a joyous Treemonisha

Sam Jacobson, 15th March

A vibrant new production of Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha at Washington National Opera underscores the opera’s enduring message of education, community and social justice.

****1

A #metoo Don Giovanni at Washington National Opera

Sydney Boyd, 29th February

Lots of people talk about keeping opera relevant. WNO shows why this opera always has been.

****1

Washington National Opera's merry take on Mozart's Magic Flute

Sydney Boyd, 2nd November

Could The Magic Flute be the next Nutcracker? A child-friendly take on the classic in a mash-up of pyramids and petticoats.

***11

Russell Thomas shines in gloomy David Alden's Otello

Vishnu Bachani, 26th October

The combination of a strong, spirited cast and a first-rate orchestral performance led by Daniele Callegari rendered the opera a moving experience in spite of drab staging and latent, unexplored tensions.

***11

Venera Gimadieva leads a moving Traviata in DC

Ako Imamura, 21st October

A strong new Traviata from Washington National Opera with the welcome house debut of Venera Gimadieva as a fabulous Violetta.

****1

Musically resplendent Don Carlo in Washington

Edward Sava-Segal, 3rd March

The team of soloists, the chorus and the orchestra, under the baton of Philippe Auguin, powerfully conveyed the spectacular qualities of Verdi's Don Carlo.

****1

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Sydney Boyd

Sydney Boyd is an arts writer, scholar, and violinist. She has been a music critic in Houston since 2012 and is the blog author of Girl at the Opera. She has a Ph.D. in English literature from Rice University, where she currently holds a post-doctoral Spatial Studies fellowship in the Humanities Research Center.