Paul Steinberg

Review: Met Revival of BALLO IN MASCHERA Opens in Alden Production

One of the troubles of being a major institution like the Met is that when they produce a new production of a major opera--and Verdi’s UN BALLO IN MASCHERA, which opened in revival the other night, certainly falls into that category--it’s an expensive undertaking. It's true that sometimes a production can be pulled out of its death tumble, with a new cast or simply time making the absolutely awful suddenly make sense. In the case of the current run of the opera, with Angela Meade, Charles Castronovo and Quinn Kelsey heading the cast, even good and sometimes inspired singing can’t save the day. Alden’s take is simply too laden with concept for it to breathe.

Verdi's UN BALLO IN MASCHERA To Return To The Met For The First Time Since 2015

Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera returns to the Met for the first time since 2015, featuring debuts and a captivating production by David Alden.

Wagner's LOHENGRIN Comes to San Francisco Opera in October

San Francisco Opera presents Richard Wagner's Lohengrin from October 15–November 1 in director David Alden's staging, a co-production of London's Royal Opera, Covent Garden and Antwerp's Opera Vlaanderen. Learn more about the opera here!

Review: PETER GRIMES, London Coliseum

Deftly balances psychological thrill with morality as murky as the North Sea

Photos: Inside Rehearsal For English National Opera's PETER GRIMES

All new rehearsal photos have been released for the English National Opera's Peter Grimes  at the London Coliseum. Check out the photos here!

PETER GRIMES Will Open English National Opera 2023/24 Season

This September, opening the 2023/24 Season at the London Coliseum, the English National Opera (ENO) presents Benjamin Britten’s searing psychological drama, Peter Grimes. David Alden’s production returns for its second revival. Following its premiere in 2009, this production won a South Bank Sky Arts Award in the Opera category.  

Review: Wonderful Music, Marvelous Performances in Met's Season Debut of ROSENKAVALIER

It took Richard Strauss only about 100 minutes apiece (with no breaks) to tell the lurid tale of SALOME and the tragedy of ELEKTRA. So why on earth did he and librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal need almost five hours (including two intermissions) to tell the personal stories of an “aging” (she was really in her 30s) noblewoman, a couple of teenagers in love and a repulsive sexual predator?

Photos: First Look at The Met HD'S FALSTAFF, Coming to Cinemas This Weekend

Verdi’s exuberant final opera, Falstaff, brought down the house with laughter and applause at its opening on Sunday, 12th March, and audiences around the world are invited to experience the production live in cinemas on Saturday 1st April. Check out all new photos from the production here!

VIDEO: Strauss's DER ROSENKAVALIER Returns to The Met Opera

Watch video from Lise Davidsen, a leading international soprano who has been lauded for her recent Met performances in Strauss's Elektra and Ariadne auf Naxos and Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, returns to the Met stage for Strauss's grand comedy Der Rosenkavalier, singing the Marschallin for the first time in a seven-performance run from March 27 to April 20.

Review: Shakespeare's Merry Wives Get the Best of a Grand Michael Volle in Verdi's FALSTAFF

Combine a supreme farceur with a stentorian voice that thrills and you get baritone Michael Volle’s portrayal of the title role in Verdi’s FALSTAFF, which breezed into town late last week for a limited run at the Met. While we’ve had dramatic singers in the role before, they were mostly from Italian repertoire; I don’t know when the last time a Wagnerian--a Wotan from the Ring, for instance--took on this role around here, but Volle did himself proud.

Strauss's DER ROSENKAVALIER Returns to the Met This Month

Der Rosenkavalier is coming to the Metropolitan Opera March 27 to April 20. See how to purchase tickets!

Verdi's FALSTAFF to Return to the Metropolitan Opera in March

Verdi’s exuberant final opera, Falstaff, will return to the Met for six performances, March 12–April 1.

The Met Launches New Streaming Platform, Making Live Simulcasts Available for Home Audiences

The Metropolitan Opera has announced the launch of The Met: Live at Home, a streaming platform that allows audiences to watch the Met’s acclaimed series of live simulcasts from any device in the comfort of their homes—the latest effort by the company to reach as broad a public as possible.

BWW Review: LOHENGRIN, Royal Opera House

Richard Wagner’s Lohengrin may be famous for introducing the tune of “Here Comes The Bride” to the world but there’s much more here in this stirring tale. David Alden’s bold production debuted in 2018 to critical fanfare and now returns to the Royal Opera House with some excellent leads and immersive flourishes.

SOFT POWER, HEROES OF THE FOURTH TURNING, and More Take Home 2020 Hewes Design Awards

The 2020 Henry Hewes Design Award Honors for the 2019–2020 theater season were presented yesterday at a virtual awards ceremony attended by more than 100 people.

2020 Hewes Design Awards Presented

The 2020 Henry Hewes Design Award Honors for the 2019-2020 theater season were presented yesterday at a virtual awards ceremony attended by more than 100 people. Awards were presented in 6 different categories and Allen Lee Hughes was awarded the Ming Cho Lee Lifetime Achievement Award.

2020 Henry Hewes Design Award Honorees Announced

The 2020 Henry Hewes Design Award Honors for the 2019-2020 theater season were announced today and will be presented at a virtual awards ceremony on October 14.

THE INHERITANCE, A STRANGE LOOP, and More Take Home 2020 Drama Desk Awards; Check Out the Full List!

Tune in right here at 7:30pm to watch The 65th Annual Drama Desk Awards and check back for a full list of winners, updating live!

Breaking: 2020 Drama Desk Awards Nominations- The Full List!

The 65th Annual Drama Desk Awards has partnered with 'Stars in the House' to live stream this year's Nominations. Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley, the hosts of the virtual daily series benefiting the Actors Fund, will announce the nominees.

BWW Review: A Chilling Revival of Ödön von Horváth's 1937 Social Commentary JUDGMENT DAY

Born in 1901, Austro-Hungarian playwright and novelist ?-dön von Horváth spent the latter of his 36 years warning against the growing threat of European fascist regimes before being fatally struck by a falling tree branch.