James Jorden
Latest Articles
‘Two Boys’ brings cyberspace to the 🅷Me🎶t
Who knows what to expect from an opera abo▨ut the Internet? But when Nico Muhly’s “Two Boys” evokes the complex mysteries of cyberspace in a series of shimmering choruses,ඣ it’s...
James Levine's back in the Met pit for 'Cosi'
⛦ My fellow opera lovers, our long Metropolitan nightmare is over. After more than two seasons sidelined by illness and injury, James🙈 Levine returned to the Met Tuesday to lead Mozart’s...
Anti-Putin protests the liveliest part of 'Eugene Onegin'
Don't blame Tchaikovsky if his opera "Eugene Onegin" proved to be the least exciting part of tꦦhe Met's opening night. Mon🌸day's gala sprang to life only for a few moments...
'Anna Nicole' falls short on trash-tastic tale
💙 The queen of tabloid TV arrived at BAM Tuesday 𒁏night in “Anna Nicole,” an opera brimming with wit and good taste. In other words, they got Anna Nicole all wrong....
💟 End of the world 💯hits NYSE - in a German opera
When the world ended last week, it happened in New York City. The apocalypse was the climꩵax of “Der Ring des Nibelungen,” as the demigoddess Brünnhilde returned a cursed golden...
‘Beauty’ is in the eye, and🀅 ear, of teen composer
When Benjamin Perry Wenzelberg returns to New Jersey’s Tenafly Middle Scඣhool this fall, he can pen a “What I Did This Summer” essay no other kid can match.🥃 Then again,...
Lincoln Center Festival's 'The Blind' is a feast for the ears
If you’re a hard-core opera buff who finds the Met’s flashy sets and costumes distracting, have I got a show for you! It’s calledﷺ “The Blind,” and for the duration...
Gorillaz bandmates make 'Monkey: Journey to the West' a barrel of fun
As oper▨as go, “Monkey: Journey to the West” is no “Aida.” But this circus-like extravaganza — an East-meets-West collaboration between the men behind alt-rock’s Gorillaz and the Chinese composer of...
'La Hija de Rappaccini' flowers in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
A contemporary take on a classic horror story blossomed into an evening of al♑ fresco musi꧋c Monday when Gotham Chamber Opera performed “La Hija de Rappaccini” on the grounds of...
Morningside Opera’s updating of Mozart’s ‘Fi൲garo’ is as timely as it is sexy
‘Ripped from the headlines” ♉isn’t how most people see Mozart, but Vid Guerrerio’s sparkling “Figaro! (90210)” remakes “The Marriage of Figaro” into a comedy as relevant as CNN and as...
🎉 Savor these musica𝔉l masterpieces under the stars
The whole city’s a New Yorker’s living room, and as temperatures rise, the parks of Gotham♒ double as concert halls, as well. The grandfather of NYC’s outdoor music events, the...
Levine is fine, kind of
Arriving ons✱tage in a motorized wheelchair, Met music director James Levine returned to the podium Sunday afternoon for the firs🍬t time in more than two years. And the question on...
🍒 Juilliard Opera’s young singers deliver a spirited take on Janacek’s ‘The Cunning Little Vixen’
In Leos Janacek’s “The Cunning Little Vixen,” the heroine is shot and skinned for her fur. A di🐼sturbing conclusion, yes, but also a happy ending, as the exultant music of...
Manhattan School of Music delivers a sm🅘art, sassy ‘Mahagonny
The fresh faces of Manhattan School of Music’s student singers starꦓed d♎own a city of sin Thursday night in “Mahagonny,” about the rise and fall of a lawless town in...
New York City Opera delivers a hilarious take on Offenbach’s ‘La Perichole’ ꦡ 🍬
🐓 To close its season this week, New York City Opera is unleashing hurricane-force galesof laughter. The show is Offenbach’s “La Périchole,” and although the 1868 operetta’s not so top-drawer a...
Rarely seen ‘David’ a sh🌄ining star in Brooklyn
Of the two love stories that unfolded at “David et Jonathas” Wednesday night𒉰, it’s hard to say which was more moving: biblical hero David’s affection for his childhood friend —...
NYC O♊pera’s𓄧 ‘Moses in Egypt’ well-sung, but it looks like ‘Ten Commandments’ for Xbox
Like the Israe𒈔lites who cross the Red Sea in “Moses in Egypt,” New York City Opera has a long, hard road ahead of it. But the company’s performance Sunday of...
This duke is on fire in 'Rigoletto'
Ring a ding ding! There’s a new Duke i♍n town, and he’s jolting tꦚhe Met’s “Rigoletto” with enough electricity to light up the Las Vegas Strip. It’s Vittorio Grigolo, who...
The Met goes for baroque with Handel’s ‘Giulio Ce♚sare,ꦅ’ kung-fu fighting and more
Bollywood dance numbers🎃, kung fu fighting, simulated nudity — and rock-solid musical values — added up to a sterling “Giulio Cesare” at the Met. In David McVicar’s starry new production,...
💃 A charm🍎ing ‘Orphée aux Enfers’ plays at the Manhattan School of Music
ꦫ A few caveats preceded Manhattan School of Music Opera Theater’s performance of “Orphée aux Enfers.” Dona D. Vaughn, director of the production, reminded the audience that all the singers ♋were...