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Opera Reviews

The Met’s ‘Flying Dutchman’ Remains Shipwrecked Despite New Crew

This dispiriting revival of François Girard's bland 'Der Fliegende Holländer' suggests the direct may be a one-shot wonder.
By Christopher Corwin
Four laughing women in 1950s style dress stand on stage

Review: The Met’s Falstaff Revival Is Fantastically Funny

Equal parts stylish, thought-provoking and laugh-out-loud funny, Robert Carsen’s revival of Falstaff is proof positive that slapstick becomes high art in the right hands.
By Gabrielle Ferrari
A distraught woman kneels before a singing woman in an operatic performance.

Review: Music Carries the Drama in McVicar’s Norma

Benini’s musical take on the bel canto tragedy reconciles the melodrama of the plot with the ethical questions raised, imbuing the classic opera Norma with a rich identity that feels of the moment.
By Gabrielle Ferrari

Review: Holding Out for a Hero—Wagner’s Lohengrin Returns to the Met

By Christopher Corwin

Review: ‘Carmélites’ Is a Nuanced Meditation on Fear and Devotion

By Gabrielle Ferrari

Review: Javier Camarena Shines in the Role He Was Born to Play

By Christopher Corwin

Opera and Apocalypse: Imagining the World After Humans Have Gone

By Annie Levin

Review: The Met’s Lively ‘Fedora’ Leads It Out of a Dismal Month

By Christopher Corwin

Review: The Met’s Aïda Is Visually Stunning but Marred by Uneven Singing

By Christopher Corwin

The Met’s ‘The Hours’ Struggles Under Virginia Woolf’s Shadow

By Gabrielle Ferrari

Two Spirited Productions of Rossini’s and Verdi’s Grandest Operas

By Christopher Corwin
Soprano Mikaela Bennett becomes B-movie diva Acquanetta. Or does she?

Prototype Festival Presents the Operas Major Companies Should Be Showing

By James Jorden
The massed forces of the Metropolitan Opera

Met’s Dour ‘Requiem’ Proves Levine’s Conducting Is All Show, No Substance

By James Jorden
Gerald Finley as Athanaël and Ailyn Pérez in the title role of Massenet’s 'Thaïs'.

Opera Takes on Women’s Politics and Privilege Up in Hudson and at the Met

By James Jorden
Bedraggled diva Leticia (Audrey Luna) seeks an exit strategy in 'The Exterminating Angel'.

Met’s ‘Exterminating Angel’ Should Have Been Snuffed Out Before It Reached the Stage

By James Jorden
Minnie (Kristin Sampson) confronts the sheriff's posse in 'La Fanciulla del West'.

New York City Opera’s New ‘La Fanciulla del West’ Is a Tearjerker

By James Jorden
A minimalistic but terrifying finale to 'Don Giovanni'

Lincoln Center’s Small ‘Don Giovanni’ Is Just What Mozart Would Have Wanted

By James Jorden
In 'La Calisto,' Emily Hughes and Adria Caffaro contemplate nymph-on-nymph action.

Dell’Arte Opera Ensemble Brings Sexual Confusion to East Village

By James Jorden
A Russian revolution inevitably ends in blood in the grand opera 'Dimitrij'.

In Opera, Upstate or in Brooklyn, There Will Be Blood

By James Jorden
Soprano Jennifer Black suffers along with the audience at On Site Opera.

At On Site Opera, a ‘Guilty Mother’ Is Executed—Badly

By James Jorden
Lovers recall ex-lovers in 'Angels in America' at New York City Opera.

New York City Opera Clips the Wings of ‘Angels in America’

By James Jorden
Drug smuggler Carmen gets in trouble with the law in Heartbeat Opera's 'Carmen.'

Heartbeat Opera Remixes the Classics, With Mixed Results

By James Jorden
Baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky makes a moving surprise appearance at the Metropolitan Opera's gala honoring Lincoln Center.

Splendor, Nostalgia and Camp Salute 50 Years of the Met at Lincoln Center

By James Jorden
Jennifer Rowley as Roxane and Roberto Alagna as Cyrano in Alfano's 'Cyrano de Bergerac'.

Roberto Alagna Is the Prince of Panache in the Met’s ‘Cyrano’

By James Jorden
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