Classical Music Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 3

Review: Renée Fleming Dazzles with VOICE OF NATURE: THE ANTHROPOCENE at Symphony Hall
by R. Scott Reedy - February 08, 2024

What did our critic think of VOICE OF NATURE: THE ANTHROPOCENE at Symphony Hall? With her sold-out Celebrity Series of Boston performance this past Sunday at Symphony Hall, Renée Fleming offered a splendid reminder, although none is needed, of why she is widely considered to be the preeminent Americ...

Review: Audra McDonald in Concert with The National Symphony Orchestra at Kennedy Center Concert Hall
by Mary Lincer - January 31, 2024

Audra McDonald has (at least) four voices--Broadway, jazz, opera, blues--not to mention six Tonys. She brought them all (the voices, not the awards) to her two hour concert with the National Symphony Pops which repeats Wednesday evening, January 31. ...

Review: THE SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY PERFORMS MOZART at The Conrad In La Jolla
by Ron Bierman - January 30, 2024

The San Diego Symphony was at a little more than half its usual size, but with a near full complement of strings, and Raphael Payare conducted with great feeling and passion. (A friend commented at intermission, “I thought he was on a trampoline.”) The result was unusually satisfying versions of th...

Review: JUDAS MACCABAEUS at Riverside Church
by Joanna Barouch - December 22, 2023

Leon Botstein, Music Director of the American Symphony Orchestra, has made it the orchestra’s mission to present lesser-known orchestral and choral works. Dr. Botstein, President of Bard College,  decided that this year’s holiday presentation would be Georg Friedrich Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus from 1...

Review: SIBELIUS SYMPHONY NO. 5 at Benaroya Hall
by Erica Miner - December 01, 2023

Two contemporary compositions provided the framework for the haunting, ebullient Symphony No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 82 by iconic Finnish composer Jean Sibelius in a recent program, performed live in Benaroya Hall on Nov. 16, 2023, and streamed on the innovative Seattle Symphony+ service. Helmed by ...

Review: SIR BRYN TERFEL at Kennedy Center
by Elliot Lanes - November 21, 2023

Sometimes it doesn't take much to make a reviewer happy and have an excellent musical experience. Welsh Bass-Baritone superstar Sir Bryn Terfel with only two instrumentalists proved that in spades. Add to that the bonus of what seemed like NO, that’s right, ZERO amplification this past Sunday in th...

Review: The San Diego Symphony Orchestra Performs in the California Festival at The Rady Shell
by Ron Bierman - November 15, 2023

What did our critic think of THE SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PERFORMS IN THE CALIFORNIA FESTIVAL at The Rady Shell?...

Review: LA TRAVIATA, London Coliseum
by Franco Milazzo - October 24, 2023

Much shorter than Richard Eyre’s three-hour plus version for the ROH, Peter Konwitschny’s La Traviata perhaps should be renamed La Trav or L’ Abbreviata. Its breathless sprint over 105 uninterrupted minutes takes more than it gives but there’s an admirable boldness to it all....

Review: THE LA JOLLA MUSIC SOCIETY PRESENTS AN ALL-STAR TRIO at The Conrad
by Ron Bierman - October 18, 2023

What did our critic think of THE LA JOLLA MUSIC SOCIETY PRESENTS AN ALL-STAR TRIO at The Conrad?...

Review: PROM 68 – MAX RICHTER - RECOMPOSED, Royal Albert Hall
by Debbie Gilpin - September 10, 2023

The Britten Sinfonia is unusual in the world of professional orchestras, in that they don’t have the now-traditional principal conductor as their figurehead, instead choosing to collaborate with leading exponents of the field. For this Prom, violinist Thomas Gould both played and acted as director; ...

Review: PROM 60: BERLIN RADIO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, Royal Albert Hall
by Louise Penn - September 03, 2023

Marking the Proms debut of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin), their artistic director Vladimir Jurowski conducted a lively and varied programme of works by Weill, Adès and Rachmaninov to a Royal Albert Hall high in anticipation. ...

Review: PROM 56 – RATTLE CONDUCTS MAHLER'S NINTH, Royal Albert Hall
by Debbie Gilpin - August 28, 2023

Last night’s performance consisted of a rendition of Francis Poulenc’s Figure humaine by the BBC Singers, as well as the London Symphony Orchestra tackling Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 9. A fitting pairing for something of a bittersweet evening, as it brings together words from the French Resistance...

Review: PROM 55 – GERSHWIN'S PIANO CONCERTO, Royal Albert Hall
by Debbie Gilpin - August 28, 2023

The Boston Symphony Orchestra’s second outing at this year’s Proms celebrated the magic of movement, with varying degrees of dance in pieces by Stravinsky, Ravel, Gershwin, and a European première from Carlos Simon. Their programme took the audience back in time, beginning in the 2020s and ending in...

Review: BBC PROM 49: SCHUMANN'S DAS PARADIES UND DIE PERI, Royal Albert Hall
by Louise Penn - August 23, 2023

This is a piece of folk storytelling at its best. Das Paradies und die Peri is an exciting piece of music which has everything you might want in an evening: moments of battle evoked by complex orchestrations; true love brought to life by the emotional power of song; and eventual redemption....

Review: THE LA JOLLA MUSIC SOCIETY'S FANTASTIC TALES at The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center
by Ron Bierman - August 06, 2023

What did our critic think of THE LA JOLLA MUSIC SOCIETY'S FANTASTIC TALES at The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center?...

Review: THE LA JOLLA MUSIC SOCIETY'S SUMMERFEST OPENING at The Baker-Baum Concert Hall
by Ron Bierman - August 01, 2023

What did our critic think of THE LA JOLLA MUSIC SOCIETY'S SUMMERFEST OPENING at The Baker-Baum Concert Hall?...

Review: In Saint-Saens' HENRI VIII, the King Has the Title but the Queens Are in Charge at Bard Festival
by Richard Sasanow - July 30, 2023

Donizetti’s so-called “Tudor Trilogy”--ANNA BOLENA, MARIA STUARDA and ROBERTO DEVEREUX (aka, “the one about Elizabeth I”)--suddenly has some competition on British history in opera: Camille Saint-Saens' HENRI VIII....

Review: BBC PROMS AT SAGE GATESHEAD: SELF ESTEEM & ROYAL NORTHERN SINFONIA, Sage Gateshead
by Bryony Rae Taylor - July 24, 2023

I like my orchestral music organised around Northern talent. An evening of two halves, this BBC Proms event saw Nottingham (which is geographically more North than South, so let’s forget for a moment that it’s in the midlands) was repped by four-piece band Divorce. Then, Rotherham-born Self-Esteem -...

Review: PROM 11: HORRIBLE HISTORIES - 'ORRIBLE OPERA, Royal Albert Hall
by Kat Mokrynski - July 24, 2023

Prom 11: Horrible Histories ‘Orrible Opera is a delightful show that will amuse audiences of all ages while making opera more approachable....

Review: PROM 7 – BEETHOVEN'S FIFTH SYMPHONY, Royal Albert Hall
by Debbie Gilpin - July 20, 2023

Works by “the old Ludwig van” – as A Clockwork Orange’s Alex would say – remain popular as part of the BBC Proms series, with this performance of his fifth symphony the second of eight Beethoven compositions on the programme this year – and this is probably the most famous of the lot. It was precede...

Review: THE GUITAR WORKS OF ROBERT W. BUTTS at Elegia Classics
by Peter Danish - July 18, 2023

What did our critic think of THE GUITAR WORKS OF ROBERT W. BUTTS at Elegia Classics?...

Review: THE TURN OF THE SCREW at Union Avenue Opera
by Benjamin Torbert - July 10, 2023

“The Turn of the Screw,” a deft psychological exploration of the dimensions of horror and the human mind. UAO’s successful staging of the work appropriately raised more questions than it answered, about danger, fear, the limits of human perception, and a host of other commonplaces in horror....

Review: ELDBJØRG HEMSING PERFORMS 'ARCTIC' AT DEATH OF CLASSICAL at Green-Wood Cemetery
by Peter Danish - July 10, 2023

What did our critic think of ELDBJØRG HEMSING PERFORMS 'ARCTIC' AT DEATH OF CLASSICAL at Green-Wood Cemetery?...

Review: CINDERELLA (CENDRILLON) at Artscape Opera House Is a Magical Blend of Opera, Ballet and Dialogue
by Jaime Uranovsky - July 05, 2023

Everyone has been acquainted with the story of CINDERELLA in some way, shape or form. What not everyone has experienced is this timeless tale told through a mixture of opera, ballet and acting. Indeed, this self-aware adaptation of Pauline Viardot’s chamber opera CINDERELLA (CENDRILLON), presented b...

BWW CD REVIEW: ARCHETYPE at Lexicon Classics
by Erica Miner - July 03, 2023

What did our critic think of BWW CD REVIEW: ARCHETYPE at Lexicon Classics?a not-to-be-missed musical delight that will elicit the desire for repeated listenings...