Public domain knight illustration by Paul Mercuri: http://www.oldbookart.com/2012/01/15/middle-ages-medieval-dress/.
This is OperaGene’s annual report on opera critics in the mid-Atlantic, a group who in good natured humor, I refer to as “Knights of the Opera Table”. Their charge is to champion good performances and slay the bad ones, and…in all seriousness…to provide knowledgeable opinions about opera performances that the rest of us can learn from, compare our own responses against, and be provoked to further think about/discuss what we witnessed, purposefully deepening and widening our enjoyment and appreciation of the art form. The mid-Atlantic region is blessed with a wealth of good opera companies and an excellent group of professional opera critics.
Well, 2021 was another tough year for the Knights as COVID, not only overstayed its welcome, but also mounted a resurgence. However, enabled by the availability of vaccinations and booster shots, opera performances began to reappear in opera houses and concert halls after over a year and a half of being shut down. So far, they have been able to hold fast against the Omicron variant. Most companies took cautious first steps, offering only a few productions in the Fall portion of the 2021-2022 season. Correspondingly, the Knights returned to the review podium as productions geared up, though seemingly now a kinder and gentler bunch, I think. One can forgive approaching criticism gingerly at this point; who wants to criticize companies and performers who have been under such duress and such under-employment? Besides, we have all been so grateful for anything they could offer us, that everything looks good. There are signs the gloves may be coming off soon as the performance scene heats up. Let’s take a closer look at the list of usual suspects and begin with some good news.
In one of the happier moments of 2021 for this opera fan, Jeremy Reynolds, classical music critic for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, was released and returned to his true calling. He had been captured by PPG management for service on the editorial board of the paper, a supposedly higher-value job. Thankfully, he escaped in time to give us a sparkling review of Pittsburgh Opera’s The Magic Flute in November, as well as posting a host of classical music reviews. Good thing, too; I was close to organizing a rescue. In truth, looking at his list of columns this year, he now appears to be wearing more than one hat, as he also fills in for other areas where there are staff shortages. I think his reassignment may have led to some pent-up critical momentum; he described a recent performance by the Pittsburgh Symphony as “serving up some spongey Beethoven and a Mendelssohn symphony with three left feet.” I only wish I could have been there. In fairness to Knight Reynolds and the Symphony, I should add that he noted that this was a rare misstep for the excellent Pittsburgh Symphony.
Pittsburgh’s other excellent critic, George Parous, hit a pandemic rough patch when his online work venue, Pittsburgh Table-in-the-Round, closed up shop, but fortunately it morphed into onStage Pittsburgh in time for Knight Parous to post a review of Pittsburgh Opera’s The Magic Flute.
Moving eastward, Knights covering the Philadelphia area continue to include Peter Dobrin, who reports for the Philadelphia Inquirer on “classical music and the arts with an emphasis on the business of the arts and the life of the city”. Mr. Dobrin is now one of the senior statesmen in arts journalism and criticism, whose clear and informative articles are always worth reading. One of his articles that I recommend covers the announcement that Philadelphia is adding a sculpture of the great contralto and Philadelphia native, Marian Anderson, to the grounds of the Academy of Music. His opera posts follow along the lines of his charge, no longer direct reviews of opera, which falls now to the Inquirer’s other classical music critic, David Patrick Stearns. Knight Stearns has been one of the most steadfast opera reviewers during the pandemic; he has even written about several of the programs on the Opera Philadelphia Channel. He did demonstrate an impact of COVID on him personally; his review of Opera Philadelphia’s recent twin bill of Oedipus Rex and Lilacs, one a Greek tragedy and the other about the death of Abraham Lincoln, pleaded, “Let’s have some feel-good arias. Soon.” Amen.
Another regular on the Opera Table is Knight Cameron Kelsall of the Broad Street Review, whose reviews are consistently insightful. He is also a contributor to other publications, and most recently, he seems to be publishing most often on Bachtrack.com. I enjoyed his review of the excellent Opera Philadelphia Channel’s film version of Voix Humaine starring Patricia Racette.
Turning South, if one wants a prolific professional music critic who is totally dedicated to the arts in our local area, look no further than critic Charles Downey of the Washington Classical Review. His reviews are so amazingly knowledgeable, insightful, and succinct that I sometimes refer to them in my blog reports. It is also impressive that his reviews consistently appear online the next morning after a performance; his are typically the first that appear.
Knight Susan Galbraith continues to post insightful reviews, now for DC Metro Theater Arts after DC Theatre Scene ceased publication; her highly descriptive review made “…Iphigenia” sound like a house of mirrors that I’m sorry I missed. On the other hand, Whitney Fishburn of DC Metro Theater Arts stepped away from the Opera Table to pursue other interests at this time.
Washington Post’s Knight errant, Michael Andor Brodeur, tends to be more errant than most, with a national view, wandering frequently up to NYC to take in Met Opera performances. Mr. Brodeur had the misfortune to join WP just as COVID-19 shut everything down in March 2020. With in-house performances opening up, he is now able to post regular reports. Mr. Brodeur does not offer the hard-edged criticism that I so enjoyed with Ms. Midgette, but he can turn a phrase and is demonstrating a forte for capturing the spirit of a performance in reviews and the heart of the issue in features. Have a look at his review of Wolf Trap’s “50 Years Together” anniversary show at the Filene Center; it is almost poetic in communicating the evening. He also has a rich knowledge of music and music history that he draws upon in his reviews. I do have one concern at this juncture. He seems to be largely overlooking opera performances of the smaller companies in the area, perhaps simply a workload issue. He did not cover Wolf Trap Opera productions of opera this season, nor did he cover Opera Lafayette, Washington Concert Opera, Virginia Opera, or IN Series opera performances in 2021. If he wants to errant outside DC, Baltimore is not too far away, and Baltimore Concert Opera is staging their first fully staged opera with orchestra on February 18 and 20. And just outside the beltway in Bethesda, Maryland Lyric Opera is emerging from the pandemic with concert performances of Turandot on February 25 and 27. In my view, there are an awful lot of excellent local performances not appearing in the Washington Post. In Knight Brodeur’s best performances list for 2021, he mentioned two Met Opera performances and the Opera Philadelphia Channel. I second the nomination of OPC, but I will also note that Knight Downey listed Washington Concert Opera’s Maometto II in his list of best, which I agree with, and he also posted reviews for IN Series, Wolf Trap Opera, and Opera Lafayette operas. Having expressed my concern, let me emphasize that I am now a fan of Mr. Brodeur’s excellent work and very much enjoy reading his reviews.
In closing, I note with pleasure that the former Post classical music and opera critic, Anne Midgette, once again appeared in print this past year, in an online NPR article. She says that there will likely be a couple more feature articles for NPR, though her focus is still finishing her book. On a sadder note, the seasons change and the NY Times excellent critic Anthony Tommasini announced his retirement. I have enjoyed reading his Met Opera reviews, which I often felt were too easy on the Met. My appreciation for Knight Tommasini deepened when I read his book, “The Indispensible Composers”.
The Fan Experience: There are some facts of life that must be dealt with. You can read reviews in many online sites at no cost, such as Washington Classical Review, onStage Pittsburgh, and DC Metro Theater Arts. However, to read journalists who work for newspapers, such as the Washington Post, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, you will need a subscription. Sometimes visitors are allowed a few articles at no cost, and you can often take advantage of special online rates that occur from time to time.
If you are wondering what the Knights did during the heart of the pandemic when performances were shut down, check out last year’s review, “Knights of the Opera Table, COVID edition”.