The Opera Tattler
Reviews of Performances and their Audiences
Category: James Levine
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Maestro James Levine has canceled his conducting assignments at the Metropolitan Opera for the remainder of this season and next. Fabio Luisi will conduct the cycles of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen this coming April and May, except for two performances of Siegfried and Götterdämmerung on May 9 and May 12, 2012. Metropolitan Opera
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James Levine had injured his back after a fall last week, and underwent emergency surgery. He has withdrawn from his performances at the Metropolitan Opera for the rest of the year. Fabio Luisi (pictured left, photograph by Barbara Luisi) has been named the Met’s Principal Conductor and will conduct the first five performances of Don…
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Whilst the Opera Tattler attended a performance of Séance on a Wet Afternoon at the David H. Koch Theater on April 28, 2011, Miss LCU was nearby at Lepage’s new production of Die Walküre (Act III pictured left, © Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera) with the Unbiased Opinionator. * Notes * Of late, James Levine gets credit for…
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* Notes * Don Pasquale had its 133rd performance at the Metropolitan Opera on Friday night. From what I could see at Score Desk 2, the sets and costumes, designed by Rolf Langenfass, were entirely traditional. One can only imagine Otto Schenk's 2006 production was likewise. The orchestra sounded lucid under James Levine. The trumpet solo…
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Maestro James Levine will undergo immediate surgery for a herniated spinal disc. The procedure necessitates withdrawing from his scheduled performances with the Boston Symphony Orchestra on September 29, October 1, and October 3. He has also canceled his October 6 and 10 performances of Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera. AP Article | Boston Symphony Orchestra…
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* Notes * Saturday's performance of Götterdämmerung ended the second Ring cycle this season at the Met. The orchestra was consistent, immaculate for the most part, though with some sour notes in the brass. The singing was all at a high level. The opening Norn scene was striking, each voice differentiated from another, and each beautiful.…
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* Notes * The performance of Siegfried at the Met yesterday evening was a mixed bag. The orchestra sounded lovely, despite some roughness in the brass. The playing was deft and rich. The singing, however, left much to be desired. Siegfried himself, Christian Franz, had a rather frail sound. He had some pretty, warm moments, but…
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* Notes * Last night's performance of Die Walküre at the Met was more impressive than Das Rheingold. For the most part, the orchestra continued playing rather cleanly, though there was noticeable trumpet error in Act I. The singing in this act was especially strong. René Pape sounded very different as Hunding than as Fasolt the…
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* Notes * The second cycle of the Met’s Der Ring des Nibelungen began yesterday night. The orchestra sounded very clean and restrained under James Levine. The tempi were often rather slow. All of the singing was solid, though not terribly exciting. As Wotan, Albert Dohmen did well, though his voice was a bit thin at…
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* Notes * Director Robert Lepage's production La Damnation de Faust was shown as a simulcast over the weekend. His Met debut certainly had the marks of a production from that company. Carl Fillion's set was not entirely unlike the one for Doctor Atomic from a few weeks ago, both being vertical and grid-like.…
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