Opera & Ballet

Collected opera and ballet reviews

High-energy season opener for Esa-Pekka Salonen’s San Francisco Symphony

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United StatesUnited States San Francisco Symphony’s ‘Re-Opening Night’: esperanza spalding (bass and vocals), Leo Genovese (piano), Terri Lyne Carrington (drums), Ravi Coltrane (tenor sax), dancers from Alonzo King LINES Ballet, San Francisco Symphony / Esa-Pekka Salonen (conductor). Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, 1.10.2021. (HS)

esmeralda spalding sings Wayne Shorter’s Gaia (c) Drew Altizer Photography

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Vintage WNO production of The Barber of Seville stills works well, a timely affirmation of the comic vision

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Rossini, The Barber of Seville: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of Welsh National Opera / Frederick Brown (conductor). Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff, 29.9.2021. (GPu)

(l-r) Nicholas Lester (Figaro), Heather Lowe (Rosina), Andrew Shore (Bartolo) and Nico Darmanin (Almaviva) (c) Richard Hubert Smith

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Fire Shut Up in My Bones is a triumph and a milestone for the Met

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United StatesUnited States Terence Blanchard, Fire Shut Up in My Bones: Soloists, Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra / Yannick Nézet-Séguin (conductor). Metropolitan Opera, New York, 27.9.2021. (RP)

Chris Kenney (Chester), Will Liverman (Charles) and Walter Russell III (Char’es-Baby) © Ken Howard / Met Opera

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