Opera Philadelphia - Philadelphia | 19 January 2021 |
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Performance reviews
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SemeleOpera PhiladelphiaNo. of reviews: 7 | ![]() |
James Darrah’s Semele in Philadelphia: a revelatory blend of depth and brilliance |
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A musical treat |
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Handel’s “Semele” excels with Amanda Forsythe, Daniela Mack and Alek Shrader |
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Amanda Forsythe a truly overwhelming Semele in Opera Philadelphia's Festival O |
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A festival adds to opera’s soaring body count |
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Fiery, full-throated Semele |
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Opera Philadelphia’s ‘Semele’ is an embarrassment of richness in its vocal work, could use some decluttering stagewise |
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Denis & KatyaOpera PhiladelphiaNo. of reviews: 9 | ![]() |
Star-crossed pairings in “Porgy and Bess” and “Denis & Katya" |
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The immortality code: death, transfiguration, and arias at opera Philadelphia’s O19 |
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Philip Venables’ compelling opera premieres at Festival O19 |
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A unique insight into a real-life incident |
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Total ellipse |
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Edgy, haunting Denis & Katya |
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Philip Venables’s work uses slender resources to tell a troubling real-life story |
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O19 opens with game-changing world premiere of ‘Denis & Katya’ |
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The world premiere of Denis & Katya at Opera Philadelphia |
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Let Me DieOpera PhiladelphiaNo. of reviews: 2 | ![]() |
The immortality code: death, transfiguration, and arias at opera Philadelphia’s O19 |
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A death a minute in Let Me Die at Opera Philadelphia’s Festival O19 |
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The Love for Three OrangesOpera PhiladelphiaNo. of reviews: 7 | ![]() |
Delightful, effervescent and so much fun |
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Oranges--Opera Philadelphia's O19 shows us what the difference is |
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Opera Philadelphia’s richly melodic, laugh-filled “Love for Three Oranges” |
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It is hard to imagine a more animated, engaging, and musically accomplished night |
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Prokofiev's commedia dell’arte showpiece in Philadelphia |
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A Festival adds to opera’s soaring body count |
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Tales of the citrus |
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Riders to the SeaOpera PhiladelphiaNo. of reviews: 4 | ![]() |
Curtis Opera Theatre presents powerful Vaughan Williams and Orth double bill |
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Vaughan Williams and Orth picture death in the family |
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Riding on empty |
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Vaughn Williams’s music is wonderfully dirge-like and grim |
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Empty the HouseOpera PhiladelphiaNo. of reviews: 4 | ![]() |
Curtis Opera Theatre presents powerful Vaughan Williams and Orth double bill |
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Vaughan Williams and Orth picture death in the family |
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Riding on empty |
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A work with tragic overtones |
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La bohèmeOpera PhiladelphiaNo. of reviews: 5 | ![]() |
Young lovers take flight and soar in Opera Philadelphia’s La bohème |
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Opera Philadelphia decorates La bohème with Impressionist art |
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Pigment of the imagination |
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Art imitates life in La bohème at Opera Philadelphia |
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In Opera Philadelphia’s new ‘La boheme,’ the Barnes and Art Museum have starring roles |
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Don GiovanniOpera PhiladelphiaNo. of reviews: 1 | ![]() |
Contrasting approaches to Mozart |
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A Midsummer Night's DreamOpera PhiladelphiaNo. of reviews: 6 | ![]() |
Opera Philadelphia and Britten’s Dream: magical enough, if not inspired |
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Opera Philadelphia’s “Midsummer” is dreamy |
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A magical Midsummer Night's Dream |
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From Mechanicals to leaping Puck, a dream Dream |
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Operatic ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ claims an orbit of its own |
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Fairy magic and flying beds |
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Ne Quittez PasOpera PhiladelphiaNo. of reviews: 4 | ![]() |
A reimagined La voix humaine |
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What a complicated evening |
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Reimagining Poulenc’s La voix humaine |
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In Opera Philadelphia’s re-imagined La voix humaine, diva Patricia Racette had a tough “act” to follow |
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Glass HandelOpera PhiladelphiaNo. of reviews: 5 | ![]() |
Costanzo blasts off with Glass/Handel |
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An extravagant evening of sensory sensations |
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Anthony Roth Costanzo moves us — literally |
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‘Lucia’ unvarnished, Handel unbound: Opera Philadelphia festival strikes again |
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Anthony Roth Costanzo provided both accomplished vocal muscle and aesthetic savvy as a producer |
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Lucia di LammermoorOpera PhiladelphiaNo. of reviews: 5 | ![]() |
Musical excellence is marred by a flawed production |
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Mad about Lucia |
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Brenda Rae is a stunning Lucia for Opera Philadelphia |
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‘Lucia’ unvarnished, Handel unbound: Opera Philadelphia festival strikes again |
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Opera Philadelphia disappoints with an uninspiring rendition of Lucia di Lammermoor |
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Sky on SwingsOpera PhiladelphiaNo. of reviews: 6 | ![]() |
Love in the time of Alzheimer’s |
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Sky on Swings: a heart-wrenching world première at Opera Philadelphia |
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Unsettling, riveting Sky on Swings |
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A compelling vision of two women with Alzheimer’s |
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‘Sky on Swings,’ the Alzheimer’s opera, opens O18 festival with a winner |
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Alzheimer's opera 'Sky on Swings' opens in Philadelphia |
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CarmenOpera PhiladelphiaNo. of reviews: 5 | ![]() |
Daniela Mack sizzles as Carmen for Opera Philadelphia |
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Opera Philadelphia closes season with triumphant 'Carmen' |
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A new Carmen, colorful but tame |
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Billboards, red dresses and a green balloon |
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A visually provocative, well-cast production |
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A Quiet PlaceOpera PhiladelphiaNo. of reviews: 2 | ![]() |
Making the case for Bernstein’s A Quiet Place |
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This chamber version of A Quiet Place still packs an emotional punch |
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Written on SkinOpera PhiladelphiaNo. of reviews: 8 | ![]() ![]() |
Benjamin’s contemporary opera of uncertain aim and reach |
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A superb production of George Benjamin’s Written on Skin |
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Sex, angels and cannibalism |
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Written indelibly on skin |
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No heart on the sleeve of Written on Skin at Opera Philadelphia |
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A dilettante at large |
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‘Written on Skin,’ an opera of love, betrayal and a little cannibalism |
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Opera Philadelphia's 'Written on Skin' a new take on a not-so-old opera |
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We Shall Not Be MovedOpera PhiladelphiaNo. of reviews: 7 | ![]() |
Standing their ground |
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The opera's message is delivered with stirring music, impressive direction and excellent performances |
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Moved takes on Philadelphia headlines |
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Roumain and Joseph's opera succeeds on the level of art and not just polemic |
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Our engagement and catharsis come from the moving music and images |
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Squatters’ rites, sacred sites in We Shall Not Be Moved |
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Has anything changed? Opera Philadelphia uses MOVE as a lens |
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I Have No Stories to Tell YouOpera PhiladelphiaNo. of reviews: 4 | ![]() |
Opera Philadelphia mixes old and new with two one-act operas |
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A clever pairing of two music dramas dealing with battles |
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At war with Philadelphia |
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Opera, war, PTSD, and bright ideas that don't quite gel |
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Il combattimento di Tancredi e ClorindaOpera PhiladelphiaNo. of reviews: 4 | ![]() |
Opera Philadelphia mixes old and new with two one-act operas |
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A clever pairing of two music dramas dealing with battles |
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At war with Philadelphia |
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Opera, war, PTSD, and bright ideas that don't quite gel |
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Die ZauberflöteOpera PhiladelphiaNo. of reviews: 6 | ![]() |
This production was a fascinating lens to look through |
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Of fairy tales and trials at Opera Philadelphia's Wake World and Magic Flute |
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A dazzling reinvented Mozart at the O17 Festival |
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Strange magic |
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Magicking Flutes – and pink elephants – in the Roaring Twenties in Philadelphia |
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Mozart by way of Monty Python and Edward Gorey |
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The Wake WorldOpera PhiladelphiaNo. of reviews: 4 | ![]() |
Of fairy tales and trials at Opera Philadelphia's Wake World and Magic Flute |
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An immersive experience which transports the audience into an other-worldly existence |
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Opera Philadelphia had premiered a third striking new work within five days |
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O17 hits the Barnes with a hallucinatory fairy tale |
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Elizabeth CreeOpera PhiladelphiaNo. of reviews: 6 | ![]() ![]() |
Murder, she sang |
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Putting on great opera can be murder |
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Elizabeth Cree is worth repeated viewings for its vivid characters, ingenious development and gripping music |
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Murder she wrote: Elizabeth Cree launch Opera Philadelphia's Fall Festival |
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Three brilliant performances anchored the opera |
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'Elizabeth Cree' opens O17 festival with bloody good opera |
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Le nozze di FigaroOpera PhiladelphiaNo. of reviews: 6 | ![]() ![]() |
Undimmed hilarity – and profundity – in a supreme operatic masterpiece |
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Opera Phila’s lusty Figaro |
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The power structure crumbles in this new Figaro |
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The cast was filled with superb singers and actors |
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The staging of the slapstick hilarity worked extremely well |
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Opera Philadelphia delivers Mozart with doors, beds, and heaps of fun |
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TancrediOpera PhiladelphiaNo. of reviews: 6 | ![]() ![]() |
Two singers compensate brilliantly for a dramatically flawed Tancredi |
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OperaPhiladelphia tackles early Rossini |
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Stephanie Blythe is a powerful Tancredi |
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Opera Philadelphia speaks softly with fortissimo effect in Tancredi |
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Death becomes him |
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Tancredi is at once grand and intimate, florid and quiet, updated but timeless |
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TurandotOpera PhiladelphiaNo. of reviews: 6 | ![]() |
A stunning presentation of a not very human opera |
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Goerke sang unstintingly in the fearsome title role |
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associated articles [+]
Opera company revising 'Turandot' over Asian depictions
Opera Philadelphia is agreeing to make changes in its marketing and production of Puccini's "Turandot" because of complaints it perpetuates stereotypes about Asians.
Opera Philadelphia is agreeing to make changes in its marketing and production of Puccini's "Turandot" because of complaints it perpetuates stereotypes about Asians.

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News & Articles
Opera Philadelphia’s Channel launched |
Lisette Oropesa’s ‘Traviata’ is a highlight of Opera Philadelphia’s new channel. |
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Opera Philadelphia cancels O20 Festival |
In addition the company will postpone or move online all but one of the live productions it originally planned for the 2020-21 season. |
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Opera Philadelphia to present digital festival |
Opera Philadelphia has announced that it will stream five of its productions—including four recent world premieres—as part of a digital festival that it will present after its 2019-20 season was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic. |
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Opera Philadelphia wins international prize |
Denis & Katya, slated to be unveiled as part of Opera Philadelphia’s O19 festival, drew the top honor from Fedora, a Paris-based program. |
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Opera Philadelphia’s O19 is down to ‘only’ four productions |
In a slightly scaled-back continuation of its festival format, Opera Philadelphia next season will mount two world premieres, Handel's Semele and Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges. |
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