John Adams has reworked his Passion/oratorio, Peter Sellars staged it and Gustavo Dudamel really brings it to life."The Gospel According to the Other Mary" is now another "Other Mary," the "…
A river and a dragon shaped by writhing performers. A budget nearly one-eighth of L.A.'s. In Munich, the beast is inventively and economically tackled.MUNICH, Germany — Wagner's "The R…
In the new Philip Glass opera, 'The Perfect American,' the visionary is a flawed, dying man who, even so, makes magic.MADRID — Walt Disney was hardly a perfect American.
Gavin Bryars' 'Paper Nautilus' makes its American debut in a splendid, fluid performance at the Aquarium of the Pacific.Eight Summer Olympics ago, it was Los Angeles' turn. We did well with …
San Francisco Opera's staging of 'Nixon in China' features a capable cast. But exaggerated makeup and wigs, and silly dances detract from the production.SAN FRANCISCO — A production he…
The composer and librettist Peter Sellars look at Christ's Passion through the eyes of women caregivers. It's 'The Gospel According to the Other Mary.'Many of John Adams' scores pursue the b…
The Los Angeles Philharmonic's new production of the Mozart opera is an extraordinary achievement, freshly illuminated and site-specific. Los Angeles Opera can stop worrying right now.
The company trots out Herb Ross' popular 1993 production, not an ideal staging for the young cast, including Ailyn Perez and Stephen Costello."La Bohème" is back. So too is Los Angeles Oper…
The wow factor is considerable as the New Yorkers — podium in tow — blow out the L.A. venue with their powerful sound and virtuosity in a wide-ranging program.The New York Philha…
Mark Swed reviews Long Beach Opera's overly silly but marvelously performed Surrealist double bill of Martinu's "Tears of A Knife" and Poulenc's "The Breasts of Tiresias."
The music making, highlighted by James Conlon s vital conducting, is, for the most part, excellent.
Mark Swed reviews Los Angeles Opera's sassy and well performed production of Benjamin Britten's "Albert Herring."
Mark Swed reviews the San Diego Opera production of Jake Heggie's "Moby-Dick."
Mark Swed reviews Rinde Eckert's stunningly effective "Moby Dick" theater piece, "And God Created Great Whales" at REDCAT.
Technology enables people with severe physical and mental disabilities to communicate and enjoy a more enriching life.There is a great deal of music in the world, and no one knows exactly wh…
Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch troupe gives energetic performance of 'Danzón.' Too bad that, in light of its founder's death in 2009, its future is hardly secure.Tanztheater Wuppertal …
Peter Sellars' "Desdemona" -- with text by Toni Morrison and music by Rokia Traoré -- is an incantatory new re-imagining of Shakespeare's "Othello," giving the missing voice to the women an…
Tim Fain's "Portals" is a multi-media violin recital experiment which reached the West Coast Sunday at the Broad Stage and included the premiere of Philip Glass solo Partita. The experiment …
Mark Swed reviews Los Angeles Opera's first production of Tchaikovsky's "Eugene Onegin," which opened the company's 26th season at the Music Center.
The Soka Performing Arts Center, which opens Saturday night in Aliso Viejo, is a new acoustical jewel by star acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota. Mark Swed reports on a dress rehearsal by the Pacif…
Santa Fe Opera revives Berg's "Wozzeck" for the first time in a decade. David Robertson is the exceptional conductor.
Poor Spidey got a raw deal. Mark Swed looks at the little of Julie Taymor's direction that is left in "Spider-Man: Turn Off the the Dark" in context of Peter Brook's "A Magic Flute" and the …
Mark Swed reviews a "Turandot" first for Gustavo Dudamel and Christine Brewer at the Hollywood Bowl
Mark Swed reviews Peter Brook's radical reduced "A Magic Flute"
Mark Swed reviews the Southern California premiere of "Jerry Springer: The Opera."