Sky on Swings: a heart-wrenching world première at Opera Philadelphia

Marietta Simpson (Martha) and Frederica von Stade (Danny)

Frederica von Stade (Danny)

Marietta Simpson (Martha) and Frederica von Stade (Danny)

By Susan Gould, 24 September 2018

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“both women are among the finest singing actresses ever”

Reviewed at Kimmel Center, Perelman Theater, Philadelphia on 20 September 2018

Beecher, Sky on Swings

Opera Philadelphia

Geoffrey McDonald, Conductor

Joanna Settle, Director

Andrew Lieberman, Set Designer

Tilly Grimes, Costume Designer

Frederica von Stade, Danny

Marietta Simpson, Martha

Daniel Taylor, Ira

Sharleen Joynt, Winnie

Veronica Chapman-Smith, Elder 1

Maren Montalbano, Elder 2

George Somerville, Elder 3

Frank Mitchell, Elder 4

A sorta fairy tale: Sleepers Awake premieres at Opera Philadelphia

Cameron Kelsall, 22nd April

A new opera by Gregory Spears subverts the Sleeping Beauty trope, with middling results.

**111

Opera by committee: Opera Philadelphia premieres Complications in Sue

Cameron Kelsall, 4th February

Opera Philadelphia commissions ten composers to tell the story of an ordinary woman's idiosyncratic march from cradle to tomb.

****1

A didactic Decameron: The Seasons at Opera Philadelphia

Cameron Kelsall, 20th December

Conceived by Anthony Roth Costanzo and Sarah Ruhl, this high-handed pasticcio sets the climate crisis to a soundtrack of Vivaldi.

***11

A long, strange trip: Opera Philadelphia’s Il viaggio a Reims

Cameron Kelsall, 19th September

The intrepid company brings Damiano Michieletto’s well-traveled production of a Rossini rarity to the US for the first time.

***11

The Listeners: daring psychological thriller at Opera Philadelphia

Cameron Kelsall, 25th September

The new opera by Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek draws on cult mindsets and conspiracy theories but smartly avoids sensationalism.

****1

Opera Philadelphia's Unholy Wars creates a dialogue with Monteverdi

Cameron Kelsall, 23rd September

Arab-American tenor Karim Sulayman devises a thoughtful pastiche that centers the perspective omitted from Early Modern depictions of the Middle East in music.

****1

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Susan Gould

Philadelphia native Susan Gould has been writing professionally about classical music since her Barnard College years in New York. She has written for both American and European publications, primarily during fifteen years in Europe, and has done liner notes for recordings and program notes for opera companies and orchestras. Among those she has interviewed have been Sills, Tebaldi, Popp and Fleming; Bumbry, Ludwig, Fassbaender, and von Stade; del Monaco, Kraus and Pavarotti; Prey, Morris and Ramey; Muti, Abbado, Giulini, Sawallisch, and Eschenbach. Fluent in Italian, German and French, she has coached both student and professional singers in foreign-language diction since 1980.