Opera & Ballet

Collected opera and ballet reviews

Lively casts and timely reflections mark the premiere of this sports opera double bill in San Francisco

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United StatesUnited States ‘Birds & Balls’: Soloists, Orchestra of Opera Parallèle / Nicole Paiement (conductor). SFJAZZ Miner Auditorium, San Francisco, 5.4.2024. (HS)

Nikola Printz (Billie Jean King) and Nathan Granner (Bobby Riggs) in an operatic reenactment of their 1973 match © Kristen Loken

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In Paris: Nureyev’s Don Quixote is a true celebration of dance without the slightest false step

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FranceFrance Rudolf Nureyev’s Don Quixote: Paris Opera Ballet, Orchestra of the Paris National Opera / Gavriel Heine (conductor). Transmitted live (directed by François Roussillon) from the Opéra Bastille, Paris, 2.4.2024. (JPr)

Paul Marque (Basilio) and Sae Eun Park (Kitri)

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Much to celebrate in the ‘timeless’ revival of Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci in Hamburg

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GermanyGermany Mascagni, Cavalleria rusticana, Leoncavallo, Pagliacci: Soloists, Chorus, Extra Chorus, Alsterspatzen (children and youth chorus) of Hamburg State Opera, Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra / Daniele Callegari (conductor). Hamburg State Opera, 29.3.2024. (DMD)

Hamburg State Opera’s Cavalleria rusticana © Hans Jörg Michel

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The superb Asmik Grigorian is simply Mimì in a kimono in Covent Garden’s Madama Butterfly

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Puccini, Madama Butterfly: Soloists, Royal Opera Chorus, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House / Kevin John Edusei (conductor). Filmed (directed by Bridget Caldwell) on 26.3.2024 at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and shown at Everyman Cinema, Chelmsford, Essex, 1.4.2024. (JPr)

[l-r] Hongni Wu (Suzuki), Josef Jeongmeen Ahn (Yamadori), Ya-Chung Huang (Goro), Asmik Grigorian (Cio-Cio-San) and Joshua Guerrero (Pinkerton) © Marc Brenner

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