Review: Opera Theatre St. Louis Battles Hate With ‘An American Soldier’
In addition to mounting works from their classical repertoire, Opera Theatre St. Louis also commissions new work that speaks to a modern audience by engaging them with presentations featuring contemporary themes without sugar coating or smooth edges. Dubbed New Works, Bold Voices these commissions also affords new voices to be heard both on and offstage, […]
Review: From Black Leather to Rainbow Pants, ‘Orfeo & Euridice’ Dazzles Opera Theatre St. Louis
In a season filled with intrigue, passion and intense drama, Opera Theatre St. Louis‘ Orfeo & Euridice is a refreshing dose of mystic escapism. Composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck, this new English translation, commissioned by Opera Theatre St. Louis, is based on the adaptation created by Hector Berlioz which lifted elements from the opera’s Italian and French versions and […]
Concert Review: Depeche Mode at the United Center in Chicago
June 1st Having spent four decades together it’s no surprise that Depeche Mode has undergone many incarnations (new wave popsters, leather-clad clubbers and arena rock megastars just to name a few) in a constant quest to not only remain relevant but also to further explore the dynamics of where they could go aesthetically and sonically. […]
Southern Gothic and Skullduggery Abound in Opera Theatre’s Voracious ‘Regina’
The treachery and deceit of a Southern family in Gilded Age Alabama is the focal point of of Regina, Opera Theatre St. Louis’ second production of the season. Adapted from Lillian Hellman’s 1939 stage play, The Little Foxes, and composed by Marc Blitzstein, Regina is just as unscrupulous today as it was when it premiered […]
Review: Tension and Tuberculosis Highlight Glorious ‘La Traviata’
You can never say that Opera Theatre of St. Louis is short on ambition. As the company launches it 43rd season it once again brings its proclivity of showcasing both emerging artists and major stars for a dazzling season highlighted by their 27th world premiere and presenting a vibrant reboot of Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata, […]
Review: ‘Titus’ at Opera Theatre of St. Louis
To close out its current season Opera Theatre St. Louis has chosen a Mozart masterwork that, while sometimes remains forgotten in context with his other operas, is filled with enough intrigue, power politics and deception that it could be ripped form today’s headlines. The biggest takeaway from the company’s production of Titus is to not […]
Review: Opera Theatre of St. Louis’ THE TRIAL
There is a dystopian uneasiness enveloping Opera Theatre of St. Louis’ The Trial that is both timely and frightening. Based on Franz Kafka’s absurdist novel the opera, making its American premiere with this production, is nothing short of a minimalist masterpiece. It has been transformed from page to stage by Christopher Hampton, who wrote the libretto, […]
Opera Theatre St. Louis’ The Grapes Of Wrath Packs An Intense Wallop
Taking a landmark work of American literature and turning it into an opera is not the easiest thing in the world to do. When the book is The Grapes of Wrath, the stakes are even higher. Knowing that the novel’s social pulse and familiar characters resonate throughout our popular culture, Opera Theatre of St. Louis […]
Review: ‘Madame Butterfly’ Opens 42nd Season of Opera Theatre of St. Louis
There’s a momentum of intensity throughout Opera Theatre of St. Louis’ new production of Madame Butterfly that leaves audiences braced for impact as the production climaxes to an emotionally exhausting final act. Anointed as the opening production of the company’s 42nd season, Giocomo Puccini’s Madame Butterfly uses the backdrop of a modernized Japan to reflect […]