Opera Review: Wings Without Zing

The New York City Opera offers a bland Angels in America.
by Paul J. Pelkonenppelkonen@gmail.com

All night angel wrestling match: Angels in America at New York City Opera.
Photo by Sarah Shatz for New York City Opera.

It takes some guts to put on an adaptation of a popular contemporary play, especially a loaded and political work that unflinchingly addressed the AIDS crisis in the 1990s. That's the challenge facing New York City Opera with its last production of the season: Peter Eötvös' 2004 adaptation of Tony Kushner's award-winning two-part play Angels in America. Unfortunately, this version of Angels, seen here in its New York premiere, dilutes the play instead of distilling its message.

Opera Review: Unfinished Business

Peter Eötvös' Senza Sangue bows at the Philharmonic.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

He's back: Alan Gilbert (right) and the New York Philharmonic return to Avery Fisher Hall.
Photo by Chris Lee © 2015 New York Philharmonic courtesy 21C.

On an ordinary evening in an unnamed European city, a woman stops at a news kiosk to buy a lottery ticket. This unassuming beginning is the start of Senza Sangue, the opera for two singers that had its New York premiere last Friday night at the New York Philharmonic. Unusually, this new 45-minute opera was paired with Schubert's Symphony No. 8 in B Minor, the so-called Unfinished. Alan Gilbert, looking relaxed after a month spent touring Europe with the orchestra, conducted.