My first visit to see an operetta by the six year old Chicago Folks Operetta was a most pleasant one. Their fabulous modern German operetta, in a rhyming translation into English by Gerald Frantzen and Hersh Glgov, is a fun time.
The young cast of unknown tenors tried to please but their voices were so slurred by the lousy sound system that it was difficult to distinguish their vocal abilities. Add the ambitious song selection, ranging from Irish folk tunes to Barry Manilow to opera selections to Simon and Garfunkel to a Frank Sinatra to Les Miserables to The Beatles, and we get a show trying too hard to play to all audience tastes
I have never heard anyone take nearly so fast and sustained a tempo as Van Zweden does here, and that includes Toscanini’s 1939 recording with the NBC Orchestra. It all seems to work rather well in the opening introduction ,marked Allegro sostenuto: This beautifully simplistic introduction so often feels lifeless and dull, sacrilege to what are some of the most brilliantly serene passages in the entire work.
Still fresh and frisky, CATS is an indispensable stop on the world-tour of theatre. Visiting Chicago for a short five day run, don’t dawdle if you want a chance to see a true piece of panache and pageantry.
The last in the trilogy exploring the mythically mad Medea, Chicago Opera Theater’s production of Teseo brings Handel’s opera seria to wondrous new life.
Fun and frisky Hairspray is a camp romp that goes back in time to an era of big hair and a big gal whose innocence and heart is about to make a splash.
Songs like “When This Cruel War is Over (Weeping Sad and Lonely),” “Shule Agrah (Johnny’s Gone for a Soldier)” and “Follow the Drinking Gourd” were particularly emotionally moving. The Civil War songbook’s rich personal sensitivity toward the angst of war is deeply presented by this group of talented singers. The superb vocals and the honest presentation of the letters home added power to the sacrifice of theses honorable patriots.
Every principal carries their songs in character beautifully! While Sophie Gordeladze (soprano) is the voice of the state, she is also a sweet treat as Lusya. Sara Heaton (soprano) as Lidochka vocally conveys the skeptical female of the three and works very well with (baratone) Paul LaRosa’s Boris, the gadabout. (bass) Matt Boehler’s physical comedy plays with just enough of the required sleaze.
Come on downtown to Skid Row and visit this little shop. A crowd-pleasing blend of genres, it’s the second performance from Street Tempo and demonstrates their emerging affection for spicy—and twisted—pieces.
George Frederic Handel’s (1685-1759) first Italian opera composed for the London stage, Rinaldo, in 1711 was a spectacle that introduced Londoners to the joy of Italian baroque opera with its wonderful melodies and rich bel canto singing. The longer I’m exposed to the joys of opera, the more I admire the Baroque style opera with their exquisite singing that allows the performers to demonstrate their craft upon the melodious scores