Interviews, Non-Theater Reviews, Stories, Whatever

In her quest for new audiences, Debra Silvert has a secret weapon, her crystal flute!  She says she’s found that it’s a draw.  “People will come out for one of our (Duo Sequenza) concerts when they hear about the crystal flute.  Once we have them, we expose them to the rest of what we’re doing.”  

****HIGHLY RECOMMENDED**** Tough, rare and bloody. These three words are used by the crew members of the ship, The Pequod, to describe the act of killing and subsequently butchering a shark or a whale and the quality of its flesh. It could also be used to define the mettle that was required to be a harpooner on just such a whaling vessel, or the peerless few who could sustain the occupational hazards. But, most aptly, those three words encapsulate Chicago Opera Theater's Chicago premiere of "Moby-Dick." Tough to take Hermann Melville's 1851 sweeping epic and distill it into as gripping and poignant of a libretto as Gene Scheer has miraculously done. Rare to hear a more hauntingly beautiful and stylistically varied score in a contemporary opera than what Jake Heggie composed for this 2010 work which has already been deemed a masterpiece. Bloody? Well, let's just say that this entire production is a bloody brilliant success. The only drawback to this is that far too many people will miss the opportunity to get a chance to see it. Following last evening's opening there is only one remaining performance to experience this essential, very American classic. 4 BIG SPOTLIGHTS

****HIGHLY RECOMMENDED**** If you are a fan of classic operas presented in a very traditional manner and incorporating a mostly conventional approach to the narrative, then the current production of Lyric's "La traviata" is a must-see. Giuseppe Verdi's 1853 work, which is far and away the most romantic of his numerous creations, remains one of the most beloved and frequently performed operas in the repertoire of all of the major houses throughout the world. Verdi, working with a libretto by Francesco Maria Piave (the two men had an intense personal connection and are responsible for numerous successful operas) has taken the themes of disease and love and loss and forged them with a somewhat scathing critique of Parisian society's mores. The result is a timeless and powerfully beautiful achievement. 4 BIG SPOTLIGHTS