Search Results for: opera

L-R: Joanna Vladyka-Mezzo Soprano, Aaron Blake-Tenor, Cristina Maria Castro-Soprano, Mario Dioza Moresco-Baritone, Maggie Finnegan-Soprano. Photo by Edward Kliszus
Music Reviews
Edward A Kliszus

On Site Opera presents The Magic Flute

The On Site Opera production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute was a night of magical enchantment, charismatic strains, and sublime artistry. Moreover, the characters roamed about the garden and interacted with the audience, creating an intimate, immersive experience nearly impossible in a concert hall. With superb singing, a refined but effectual musical accompaniment of piano, and two accomplished flutists, listeners were transported to a mythical realm of captivating imagination and charm. The audience’s experience was transformative, transcending into the boundaries of reality through engagement in the rich tapestry of the opera’s narrative, characters, and music.

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June 24, 2023
Eric McKeever as Michele in Il Tabarro by the On Site Opera. Photo by Bowie Dunwoody
Music Reviews
Edward A Kliszus

The ON SITE OPERA Presents Puccini’s Il Tabarro

Soloists in the ON SITE Opera production of Puccini’s Il Tabarro were consistently marvelous and presented a thrilling performance of a seminal artwork with the support of a splendid chorus, orchestra, and production team. With fine sound, staging, and costumes rendered in a unique maritime setting, we extravagantly experienced the opera’s dramatic and emotional depth characterized through Puccini’s rich, evocative inventions. The performance was a memorable, compelling, and immersive experience.

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May 15, 2023
Merkin Hall. Kaufmanmusicenter.org.
Music Reviews
Edward A Kliszus

Riverside Opera Ensemble

The broad selection of musical works provided marvelous musical moments; artistry, vocal command, drama, and sheer choric beauty abounded.

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May 17, 2022
Heather Massie in her solo play, "HEDY! The Life and Inventions of Hedy Lamarr," at Morningside Players, 100 La Salle Street, Manhattan. Photo by Jonathan Slaff.
Off Broadway
Edward A Kliszus

HEDY! The Life & Inventions of Hedy Lamarr

As the audience gathered for HEDY! The Life & Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, we were transported through time by a captivating blend of visuals and sounds. Simple props from the era and film clips of Hedy Lamarr added to the allure. As we watched, we heard music like Cole Porter’s You Do Something to Me (1929) and Wang Wang Blues (1920) performed by Paul Whiteman and His Ambassador Orchestra.

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October 27, 2023
Psycho Clan and ETR Ventures' Nightmare Dollhouse
Off Broadway
Edward A Kliszus

Nightmare Dollhouse

Nightmare Dollhouse was a spooky, creepy doll-themed event that sent shivers down spines, horrible horripilations indeed! The event was staged in an old building in New York’s Lower East Side. One inched through the dimly lit rooms while walking or crawling through creepy spaces. Strange artifacts, surprises, and spine-tingling antics by weird characters made the heart race. I’ll not give it all away, but my favorite may have been sticking needles in a voodoo doll as the victim squirmed, or wait, perhaps I enjoyed drinking from a child’s make-believe haunted tea set as I was offered a ‘biscuit’ shaped like a giant cockroach.

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October 23, 2023
Main Kent Tritle conducts Musica Sacra. Photo from MusicaSacraNY.com
Choral Music
Edward A Kliszus

Musica Sacra Presents SurRound

Tonight’s special program, Musica Sacra Presents SurRound, was set in the magnificent Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in Manhattan, New York City.  The audience was treated to a mélange of a capella music from organum of the Middle Ages to the complexity and richness of the Renaissance and seminal works of contemporary times. In addition, we were treated to a world premiere of Daniel Ficarri’s  Blessed Are the Pure in Heart, which shall undoubtedly join the canon of vital choral literature.

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October 19, 2023
A scene from Salesman之死 at the Connelly Theater. Photo by Maria Baranova
Off Broadway
Holli Harms

Salesman之死

Unable to speak Mandarin, Arthur Miller was in need of a translator and found in the young university professor, Shen Huibui, not only a translator of language but of culture, life, and the art of storytelling. Salesman之死.

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October 17, 2023
A setting in the David Burke Tavern. From DavidBurkeTavern.com
Dining
Sora Vernikoff

David Burke Tavern

One nice night at the beginning of October, my girlfriend and I decided to meet for dinner at the David Burke Tavern. It’s a charming restaurant located at 135 East 62nd Street between Lexington and Park Avenues.

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October 7, 2023
Kenneth Branagh in a scene from A Haunting in Venice. From the official trailer
Movie Reviews
Edward A Kliszus

A Haunting in Venice

Agatha Christie’s novel Hallowe’en Party, published in 1969, inspired A Haunting in Venice. This film had it all for Christie fans. The famed Belgian detective Hercule Poirot partners with his novelist friend Ariadne Oliver. We attend an intense seance in a spooky, scenic setting. On a dark rainy night, we enter a haunted old building with falling chandeliers, secret passages, deadly games, and intrigue.

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October 5, 2023