Opera Review: Their Reverence For This Lovely Flower

The Bayerische Staatsoper presents Der Rosenkavalier.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Table for one: Adrienne Pieczonka as the Marschallin in Der Eosenkavalier.

Richard Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier is his most beloved opera. Strauss fused rigorous compositional technique, catchy waltzes and superb vocal writing  to a charming, sentimental libretto by his longtime collaborator Hugo von Hoffmannsthal. On Thursday night, the Bayerische Staatsoper brought this opera to the stage of Carnegie Hall under the baton of its boss Kirill Petrenko. This was the opera companys first concert performance at the New York venue in its long history.

Opera Review: March to the Scaffold

The Metropolitan Opera (finally) revives Fidelio.

by Paul. J. Pelkonen

Oh happy we: Leonore (Adrinane Pieczonka) is reunited with Florestan  (Klaus Florian Vogt) in
Act II of Fidelio. Photo by Ken Howard courtesy The Metropolitan Opera.

In the current political climate, Beethoven's Fidelio, with its call for freedom in the face of corruption and the naked abuse of power is more relevant than ever, so it is fitting that this month marks the Metropolitan Opera’s first revival of the show in eleven years. The players have changed radically, but Jürgen Flimm’s grim, unrelenting production has not. It is still set in a bare modern prison, adorned by white industrial lights, inexplicable trash heaps and sadistic  guards toting automatic rifles and nightsticks.