Strauss' Silent Woman makes a grand noise at Bard

Harold Wilson (Sir Morosus) and Edward Nelson (The Barber)

Jana McIntyre (Aminta), Harold Wilson (Sir Morosus) and Edward Nelson (The Barber)

David Portillo (Henry Morosus) and Jana McIntyre (Aminta)

Soloists and Members of the Bard Festival Chorale and Dancers

By Robert Levine, 25 July 2022

Loading, please wait...

See full listing

“Bard has engaged Christian Räth to unravel the tangles and he does so joyfully and tellingly”

Reviewed at Richard B Fisher Center for the Performing Arts: Sosnoff Theater, Annandale-on-Hudson on 24 July 2022

Strauss R., Die schweigsame Frau (The Silent Woman)

SummerScape Opera

Leon Botstein, Conductor

Christian Räth, Director, Set Designer

Mattie Ullrich, Costume Designer

Rick Fisher, Lighting Designer

American Symphony Orchestra

Bard Festival Chorale

Harold Wilson, Sir Morosus

Jana McIntyre, Aminta

David Portillo, Henry Morosus

Edward Nelson, Schneidebart, the barber

Ariana Lucas, Widow Zimmerlein, the housekeeper

Matthew Anchel, Vanuzzi

Chrystal E Williams, Carlotta

Anya Matanovic, Isotta

Federico De Michelis, Farfallo

Jorell Williams, Morbio

Almost rescued from tyranny: Smetena's Dalibor stuns at Bard

Robert Levine, 27th July

Bedřich Smetana’s patriotic opera Dalibor is given a rare outing at Bard College, directed by Jean-Romain Vesperini and conducted by Leon Botstein.

****1

Damning with faint praise: Berlioz at Bard

Cameron Kelsall, 18th August

As part of a festival considering the composer's oeuvre, Leon Botstein leads a concert performance of La Damnation de Faust lacking in French style.

**111

The fat knight sings in Bard Festival's Sir John in Love

Cameron Kelsall, 13th August

A two-week Ralph Vaughan Williams retrospective closed with his gentle, folksy spin on Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor.

***11

Saint-Saëns rarity Henry VIII takes the crown at Bard SummerScape

Cameron Kelsall, 21st July

Conductor Leon Botstein and director Jean-Roumain Vesperini treat this Tudor soap opera with appropriate grandeur, while a top-notch cast deliver the vocal goods.

****1

Bard Musical Festival presents a thrilling Die tote Stadt

Cameron Kelsall, 18th August

American singers Clay Hilley and Sara Jakubiak offered performances of distinction in two fiendishly difficult roles.

****1

Das Wunder der Heliane makes long-awaited US debut

Cameron Kelsall, 28th July

Although Bard's production is only intermittently successful, the chance to hear this Korngold rarity live should be savored.

***11

More reviews...

Robert Levine

Robert T. Levine is a New York born-and-bred music writer with a particular interest in music for the voice. His work has appeared in many periodicals and newspapers. He is the author of many books, including The Story of the Orchestra, four volumes in the Black Dog & Leventhal Opera Library, and, most recently, Maria Callas: A Musical Biography.