Opera & Ballet

Collected opera and ballet reviews

Despite a stellar double act, Charles Edwards makes a new Met I puritani more confusing than it need be

by

United StatesUnited States The Met: Live in HD – Bellini, I puritani: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera / Marco Armiliato (conductor). Broadcast live (directed by Habib Azar) from the Metropolitan Opera, New York, on 10.1.2026 and seen at Everyman Chelmsford on 13.1.2026. (JPr)

Lisette Oropesa (Elvira) and Lawrence Brownlee (Arturo) © Ken Howard/The Met

Read more

Creative design and collaborative artistry make Prototype’s Precipice a triumph of small-production opera

by

United StatesUnited States Prototype Festival 2026 [2] – Rima Fand, Precipice: Bass string quintet, piano & mandolin / Mila Henry (music director). La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, New York, 9.1.2026. (DS)

Daisy Press and Alison Tolan-Mee in Precipice © Maria Baranova

Read more

Noteworthy Bremerhaven concert performance of I Capuleti e i Montecchi

by

GermanyGermany Bellini, I Capuleti e i Montecchi: Soloists and Chorus of Bremerhaven Municipal Theatre, Philharmonic Orchestra Bremerhaven / Davide Perniceni (conductor). Bremerhaven Municipal Theatre, 3.1.2026. (DM-D)

Marcin Hutek (Lorenzo), Timothy Edlin (Capellio), Alice Lackner (Romeo), Victoria Kunze (Giulietta), Weilian Wang (Tebaldo), Philharmonic Orchestra Bremerhaven and Davide Perniceni (conductor) © Heiko Sandelmann

Read more

Thoroughly enjoyable Vienna Die Fledermaus revival has Kaufmann’s first Eisenstein on the stage

by

AustriaAustria Johann Strauss II, Die Fledermaus: Soloists, Dancers of the Vienna State Ballet, Chorus and Orchestra of Vienna State Opera / Markus Poschner (conductor). Broadcast live (directed by Jakob Pitzer) from the Vienna State Opera, 31.12.2025. (JPr)

Jörg Schneider (Alfred), Diana Damrau (Rosalinde) and Jonas Kaufmann (Eisenstein) © Wiener Staatsoper

Read more