Full of double entendres, word play (the relationship and translation between French and English is a fertile field), and a playful disregard of logic and sense, the story will amuse you. The singing will also please you; the small cast is full of young rising singers. Continue reading Vespertine Opera’s Playful Les Mamelles de Tirésias at Columbia City Theater
Add in improvised music, as Jet City Improv’s latest venture does, and you’ve got two things — comedy and music — where timing is of utmost importance, and if it doesn’t come together, it’s hard to salvage. For the most part, The Adventures of Gilbert & Sullivan! holds together. Continue reading Jet City Improv Ventures into Gilbert & Sullivan Giddiness
Teatro ZinZanni’s newest show, Dinner at Wotan’s, is a whirlwind of songs you know and songs you don’t, gravity-defying acrobatics, cabaret, and one memorable bubble bath. Based (extremely) loosely on Nordic mythology, the show combines ’80s power ballads, traditional Swedish songs, an aria from Verdi’s La Forza del Destino (“Pace, pace mio Dio”), and even some of Wagner’s Ring Cycle. Continue reading Teatro Zinzanni’s “Dinner at Wotan’s” Takes Acrobatics to Valhalla
Seattle Opera’s production of Puccini’s La Bohème feels like coming home. Even if you’ve never seen Bohème before, you’ll feel warm, welcome, and aware of life’s fragile beauty afterward — not just because of Puccini’s glorious score, but because of Seattle Opera’s treatment of it. Continue reading A “La Bohème” at the Seattle Opera That’s to Die For
Zetlan is currently in Seattle singing Musetta in La Bohème (February 23 to March 10). Updated to be set the year it was written, 1896 (it’s usually set in the 1830s), the production features photography — in the staging, in the sets, and even on the show curtain, which will include a picture actually taken in Act II of the opera. Continue reading “Bohème” and Rhinemaidens in Harnesses – Oh My!
With looks a blend of Colin Firth and Fabio, and a hide-and-seek French accent, Maxime Bilet had the audience eating out of the palm of his hand–almost literally. He passed out goody bags at the beginning of the presentation, asking us please to wait to ingest the contents until he directed us to do so. Patience has never been so solidly rewarded. Continue reading I Went to Bumbershoot and All I Ate Was Liquid Peas and Spherical Orange Juice
As if he knew this opera would be his last, Puccini crams as much drama and story as he can into every moment. Instead of an overture, BOOM! we’re in Turandot’s palace, with the chorus demanding blood. Characters are introduced quickly, and connections between them are established with lightning speed. Continue reading The Spectacular Riddle of Turandot in a “passionate, precise, and powerful performance”
