Isabel Leonard soars in Glimmerglass Festival's Songbird

By Cameron Kelsall, 06 August 2021

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“captures the festive, parade-like spirit we audiences crave as our Covid hiatus comes to an end”

Reviewed at Alice Busch Opera Theater, Cooperstown on 6 August 2021

Offenbach, La Périchole (adapted as “Songbird”)

Glimmerglass Opera

James Lowe, Conductor

Eric Sean Fogel, Director

Christelle Matou, Costume Designer

Robert Wierzel, Lighting Designer

Francesca Zambello, Director

William Burden, Piquillo

Isabel Leonard, La Périchole

Reilly Nelson, Mastrilla

Michael Pandolfo, Don Andrès de Ribeira

Kameron Lopreore, Don Miguel de Panatellas

Peter Morgan, Don Pedro de Hinoyosa

Helen Huang, Guadalena

Emily Misch, Berginella

Glimmerglass Festival Orchestra

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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Cameron Kelsall

Cameron Kelsall is a classical music critic and cultural reporter. He has written for Bachtrack since 2019, and his byline has appeared in many national and international classical music publications. Based in Philadelphia, he regularly travels around the United States for musical events. In addition to his career in journalism, Cameron also teaches in the Theatre Arts program at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also a certified sommelier and avid home cook. His favorite composer is Mahler. Twitter: @CameronPKelsall.