Utah Opera’s Don Giovanni goes Film Noir

Utah Opera’s 2016-2017 season closes with one of Mozart’s most popular operas, Don Giovanni. The 2016-17 season has been marked by serious operas with themes ranging from PTSD and the effects of war, to violence against women and political expression. Don Giovanni continues that trend with an updated production that shines a stark light on Giovanni’s … Read more

Utah Opera’s Lucia di Lammermoor is dramatic, yet subtle

Utah Opera’s 2016-2017 season has played to the moodier and dramatic side of human nature this year, and Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor is no exception. This tale of a woman manipulated into turning her back on true love and marrying another has tragic consequences. Utah Opera added more drama to the production with a last-minute cast … Read more

Utah Opera presents solid production of Carmen

Utah Opera's Carmen

Utah Opera kicks off its 2016-2017 season with one of the most beloved and often-performed productions–Carmen. Bizet’s opera Carmen is a spectacular work, brimming with fiery passion, ceaseless drama and memorable music. Utah Opera’s 2016 production is a solid and straightforward telling that is pleasing enough, but falls a bit short of greatness. Carmen follows … Read more

Utah Opera closes season with charming The Marriage of Figaro

The Marriage of Figaro

It doesn’t take much to have a good production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro. The opera is so charming that as long as you have some good voices, you’re pretty much guaranteed a pleasant experience. Having a great production, however, takes an amazing amount of work. Not only do the voices need to be … Read more

Lavish Spectacle, Strong Voices in Utah Opera’s Aida

Utah Opera's Aida. Photo credit: Heather L. King

It has been more than a decade since Utah Opera has staged the operatic blockbuster Aida by Giuseppi Verdi, and the energy at the Janet Quinney Lawson Capitol Theatre on opening night was palpable. The production, which runs through March 20, is strong, ambitious, and exciting, but not without a few missteps. Aida is the … Read more

Superb talent in Utah Opera’s Tosca

Some consider Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca to be overly melodramatic, but like many opera lovers I never tire of the melodrama, because it’s paired with such moving and powerful music. Utah Opera’s current production of Tosca, playing at the Janet Quinney Lawson Capitol Theatre through October 18, is near-perfect, with music and performances that left me breathless. … Read more

Utah Opera’s The Rake’s Progress is bold and creative

Utah Opera's The Rake's Progress

Utah Opera’s production of Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress is new to Salt Lake City, but this 40-year-old production is one of the most iconic in the history of American opera. The Rake’s Progress follows the story of Tom Rakewell, a young man who decides to reject the life his future father-in-law has set up for … Read more