Could purist opera fans really be mean? Or they just don’t mind being direct and honest in providing feedback regarding productions that they see. The word “Eurotrash” still comes up occasionally despite the initial derogatory nature. You must have remembered the word Eurotrash when I wrote a review about stage director Willy Decker’s vision of Verdi’s…
Fascinated with the popularity of Natalie Dessay, I then decided to check out if she has done the role of Violetta in La Traviata. And I eventually discovered that she did at the Metropolitan Opera. I mentioned that in a previous article. Then again, the challenge usually lay in making an interesting version of one…
Remakes, reboots, revivals, reruns – why do we like recycling stories? Because not all versions get it right previously. And no matter how promising a story is, if a production falls flat in making the audience care about its characters, another production would try to get it right. No wonder some folks end up watching…
Opera in previous years made an effort to attract new audiences by modernizing its productions. It was a hit-or-miss thing since the purist crowd would still prefer seeing their favorite opera productions in period costumes and settings. But what if some folks went the Euro look? Some folks at the Opera Talk Facebook Group went…