Who better to compose an opera on the repetitive forces which govern human nature than Philip Glass! There is no better match to write about the immutability of the human soul, as the theme begs for an insistent ostinato in a minor key, of course. His score is one of the strong points of Appomattox, which had its premiere on Friday night: it is distinctly Glass-ian, but integrates elements and influence contemporary to the civil war. There is a substrate of minor third pedals and a restrained palette of rhythmic motifs in the orchestra, but this is the scaffolding which sustains a surprising variety of colors and sounds. The leading men have singing patterns which are close to speech, but Glass lets his hair down with the women, providing superb arias to moments of intimacy, or pettiness, or even, in the case of Mary Custis Lee, ugliness. more ›

Thesis: classic Italian opera represents the core tradition of the art form and success as a singer means being able to master the genre. Anti-thesis: opera is an evolving live form, and the work of contemporary composers is relevant, forget about the old dead ones. Synthesis: let’s toss a little bit of everything on the wall, old and new, domestic and foreign, we’ll see what sticks, and call it the Merola Grand Finale. more ›

If a staged opera is a traditional meal, with an amuse-bouche of an overture, a few appetizers of introduction to set up the drama, some meaty bits in the middle and as a palate cleanser, a tragic ending, then the Merola Grand Finale is an all-you-can-eat buffet: the highest quality items, for sure, not a $7.99 Vegas buffet. But we were confronted to the same dilemma: which singers to pick to highlight in a review? Which arias did we like better? Our plate would be full before we could list half of them. Unlike in a regular opera, there were no less intense moments, no lower points to give more perspective to the high notes. All the arias were vehicles to display the singers's abilities (aka. hot dogging), and all of them were up to the task. more ›