The Joffrey Ballet takes “The Nutcracker” to a dynamically different time and place in its groundbreaking new production of the holiday favorite. Yes, mice will take the stage in The Joffrey Ballet’s new production of “The Nutcracker” at the Auditorium Theatre this December. But Ashley Wheater, the company’s artistic director, declined to reveal the size […]
When American novelist Ann Patchett watched news of a four-month siege of the Japanese embassy in Lima, Peru, by young rebels in 1996, she saw its potential as a compelling story and used it as the template for her multiple award-winning 2001 novel, “Bel Canto.” The siege had begun during a large party and to […]
A Wagner opera delivers three things: a seamless score, glorious melodies and great length. Lyric Opera of Chicago‘s production of the composer’s “Tannhauser,” which opened Feb. 9 at the Civic Opera House, certainly had all of the above. But this opera is also a conflict between the spiritual and the sensual. The role of Tannhauser […]
An opera as suspenseful as a Hitchcock film, a soul-searing score, and a marvel of a two-tiered set. And that’s before we even mention the voices on stage at the Lyric Opera of Chicago‘s premiere of “The Passenger” the evening of Feb. 24. The score by Mieczysław Weinberg begins with menacing drums, painting a musical portrait […]
“Tosca” has everything. A chilling story of an opera singer and a painter trapped in the political turmoil of 1800 Rome; their passionate, doomed love story; and blood—oh yes, lots and lots of blood—all borne on the crest of Puccini’s magnificent music. Lyric Opera of Chicago opened a new production of this glorious tragedy at […]
“Anna Bolena” premiered in December of 1830, composed by Gaetano Donizetti, who lived from 1797 to 1848. So it is a bel canto opera, right? Yes, but don’t think the principals will just stand there and sing. The three hour and 25 minute production at Lyric Opera of Chicago opened Saturday, Dec. 6, and this […]
George and Ira Gershwin and Dubose Hayward’s “Porgy and Bess” is both a spectacle and a love story. It portrays a tight-knit community and a doomed couple, its focus careening back and forth between those opposite poles. Lyric Opera of Chicago brought that tale of African Americans on Catfish Row in South Carolina to pulsating […]
Vengeance! Passion! Kidnapping! Death! All this and more are on stage at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in its searing production of Giuseppe Verdi’s masterpiece “Il Trovatore,” which opened at the Civic Opera House the evening of Oct. 29. Never mind that the story is unbelievable; the drama is unmistakable. From the first drum rolls […]
The Goodman Theatre in Chicago celebrates its 90th anniversary this season. It is another milestone for the longest active nonprofit theater in Chicago, and its two stages will be filled with works by established playwrights and some promising comedies by bright new names. Robert Falls, who has been the theater’s artistic director since 1986, reflects […]
It’s sentimental, but then so are the Irish. It’s hilarious, because they can turn a phase into laughter like no group on the planet. And it’s laced with tragedy, as is their history. Northlight Theatre presents “Chapatti,” a two-person play by Christian O’Reilly set in present-day Dublin and given its world premiere in the North […]
