135 stories by "James Jorden"
It's been staged as a frilly farce, a Greek tragedy, a Freudian case study -- even a "ripped from the headlines" shocker about a coke-fueled date rapist.
So versatile a masterpiece is Moz…
Opera an elitist art? Tell that to the more than 2,500 people who braved a sweltering Monday night to cheer the Met's Summer Recital Series at Central Park SummerStage.
Seated on folding …
Even to hard-core opera buffs, Rossini's "Wil liam Tell" is known best for its rousing overture, a k a the "Lone Ranger" theme. But at Caramoor Saturday night, the majestic work was revealed…
Subtract the magic and the flute from Mo zart's "The Magic Flute," and you'd think there'd be nothing. But an adaptation of this opera at the Lincoln Center Festival on Wednesday conjured a …
Asinging crossbreed -- a fox with human in telligence -- stars in Leos Janacek's opera, "The Cunning Little Vixen." If only the New York Philharmonic's semistaged performance Wednesday night…
A singing crossbreed " a fox with human intelligence " stars in Leos Janacek's opera, "The Cunning Little Vixen." If only the New York Philharmonic's semistaged performance Wednesday night w…
If, as rumor has it, conductor Fabio Luisi is poised to suc ceed the ailing James Levine as music director of the Met, Saturday afternoon's elegant performance of "Ariadne auf Naxos" showed …
A journey to hell yielded heavenly music Friday night at the Met's revival of "Orfeo ed Euridice."
For this 1762 work, Gluck chose the Greek myth of Orpheus, the musician who braves Hades…
In "Die Walkure," the second installment of Wagner's four- part "Ring" cycle, the god Wotan enlists his children to recover the stolen Ring of the Nibelung, a source of infinite power carryi…
IN "Die Walkure," the second installment of Wagner's four-part "Ring" cycle, the god Wotan enlists his children to recover the stolen Ring of the Nibelung, a source of infinite power carryin…
First witches, now ghosts. But while Broadway's "Wicked" proved golden for Stephen Schwartz, his "Séance on a Wet Afternoon," came up lifeless and damp Tuesday night at its City Opera premi…
When "Die Walkure" opens at the Met Fri day, expect standing ovations for conductor James Levine and singers Deborah Voigt and Bryn Terfel -- and mild applause or a boo or two for director R…
Alban Berg's "Woz zeck," about a bullied soldier's descent into madness, is one of the grimmer operas around. Yet it was cause for jubilation Wednesday night when Met music director James Le…
Alban Berg's "Wozzeck," about a bullied soldier's descent into madness, is one of the grimmer operas around. Yet it was cause for jubilation Wednesday night when Met music director James Lev…
Take a sexy comedy, add Rossini's scrumptious melo dies, then fold in world-class singers and a Tony-winning director.
Now pray it doesn't turn out like the sodden soufflé that is the Me…
Esoteric music staged by an operatic outsider paid off for the New York City Opera on Friday night with "Monodramas," a program of three single-character operas.
Though the works weren't …
The New York Philharmonic has one of the most sought-after shows this season as it veers from its classic repertoire for a production of Stephen Sondheim's "Company" from April 7 to 9.
Prese…
The first rule of gam bling is: You win some, you lose some. Still, it's heartbreaking that on Friday at the Met, an opera about a compulsive gambler, "The Queen of Spades," barely broke eve…
SHAKESPEARE called Romeo and Juliet "star-cross'd lovers" -- and the Met's performance Thursday of Gounod's operatic version, "Roméo et Juliette," was also plagued by hard luck.
The offs…
When a show takes place by a lake, its director can take several ap proaches: hang a backdrop, proj ect watery ripples on the stage -- or have someone say, "Hey, look at that beautiful lake!…
Math is hard, even for Met master mind Peter Gelb.
The company's general manager kicked off his season preview last week boasting that, since he took office in 2006, the average age of th…
At a time of life when most opera singers can barely re member their glory days, 70-year-old Placido Domingo is still giving performances singers half his age could be proud of.
The legen…
A milestone in history, a hyped Met premiere and a gaggle of A-list artists added up to something less than a sensation Wednesday night when the Metropolitan Opera offered its first performa…
A blizzard seemed an incongru ous prelude to an opera set in sizzling biblical Egypt, but the trudge through snowy SoHo on Wednesday night paid off with a glimpse of the intriguing new "Mosh…
No sooner had the cheers faded for James Levine's arrival at the Met podium Thursday than a shout rang out from the balcony: "Bravo, maestro!"" sparking a second ovation warmer than the firs…
