Two cities, two premieres, and two very different sets of public opinion. Is either one right? Wrong?
Kim Witman | Posted 05.16.2012
Casanova was a friend of Lorenzo da Ponte, the man who wrote the words to Mozart's Don Giovanni. Casanova, Lorenza da Ponte, and Don Giovanni. A frighteningly powerful intersection of virility, machismo and hubris.
Kim Witman | Posted 05.08.2012
We had two perfect Don Giovannis and two ideal Leporellos. And they were both embodied by the same two guys. So we did what any sane and fair-minded casting company would do: give both gentlemen both roles and have them sing opposite one another in alternating performances.
Kim Witman | Posted 04.25.2012
It seems that when we look at Don Giovanni, what we see are our own cultural obsessions peering back at us. In the late 20th century, we began to see Giovanni increasingly as a man in existential crisis.
Tom Teicholz | Posted 04.20.2012
One could do worse than to abide by these resolutions: Be lazy. Stay local. Be frugal -- see theater, opera and ballet in HD. Be lazy. Stay local. Be frugal. Travel the world without ever leaving home -- see theater, opera and ballet in HD.
Kim Witman | Posted 04.17.2012
Don Giovanni was a womanizer -- one beside whom Don Draper would pale. But it was not this Don's philandering, but the way in which he held himself above God and all morality that shocked Mozart's audiences most.
AP | By COLLEEN BARRY | Posted 12.08.2011
MILAN -- Italian Premier Mario Monti took a short culture break from promoting his package of austerity and growth measures to attend La Scala's gala ...
Michael Kaiser | Posted 05.25.2011
There is no doubt that sharing productions allows an opera company to show more new works than when every company builds each of its own productions. But is something lost in this endeavor? I think so.
George Heymont | Posted 05.25.2011
Whether deploying a chorus line of Ku Klux Klansmen, mocking every symbol of Christianity, or filling the theatre with nonstop profanity, Jerry Springer:The Opera has something to offend everyone.
Posted 05.25.2011
Being unable to attend the Glyndebourne Opera Festival can be counted among life's chief disappointments. Now, thanks to MediciTV, you can do your be...
David Finkle | Posted 05.25.2011
My question, then, is: Whom are the presenters doing a favor by offering these recitals? Opera lovers will know they aren't hearing singing done under the proper conditions.
Kim Witman | Posted 05.25.2012