Ithaca College

 No more carping about out-of-tune singing (for the rest of 2015). No more bemoaning directors who don't seem to like the art of opera (for the next five minutes). No more worrying whether traditional opera will go the way of all flesh (for the next few days, at least). It's time to give up on my Scrooge tendencies and be thankful for the gifts that opera gave me, in and around New York this past year, alphabetically speaking.  He makes this list with singers like Jamie Barton, Diana Damrau, Christine Goerke, Stephanie Blythe, and more....

No more carping about out-of-tune singing (for the rest of 2015). No more bemoaning directors who don't seem to like the art of opera (for the next five minutes). No more worrying whether traditional opera will go the way of all flesh (for the next few days, at least). It's time to give up on my Scrooge tendencies and be thankful for the gifts that opera gave me, in and around New York this past year, alphabetically speaking. 

John Holiday in Vivaldi's CATONE IN UTICA from Opera Lafayette. On paper, Catone in Utica is a mess, with music missing from Act I and no final version of Act III, but Washington's Opera Lafayette showed how little it matters, versus the opportunity to hear the glorious opera music by the "red priest." It also provided an outlet for the star-making performance by countertenor John Holiday as Caesar. Lafayette also mounted L'EPREUVE VILLAGEOISE by Andre Gretry at the French Institute-Alliance Francaise last summer in a production notable for its exuberance and charm, under Artistic Director/Conductor Ryan Brown, in Nick Olcott's production.

For the full article, please visit the website here.