David Fox
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Articles by David Fox
Cream of the crop
It’s been several years since I attended AVA—Philadelphia’s Academy of Vocal Arts—and I enjoyed the reacquaintance. Their Giargiari Bel Canto Competition is always a great way to hear many of the resident artists, and this year was a bumper crop, with 16 participants! The larger number meant limiting each singer to a single aria, but most took advantage with substantial excerpts. Here’s a run-down of some highlights.
The awkward stage - Parterre Box
Farnace argues for a peace treaty with Rome before his father Mitridate (left) throws him in prison. Photo by Dominic Mercier Mozart’s vocal music was some of the earliest that made me fall in love with opera. But Mitridate, re di Ponto was just a name to me — or not even that — when in the late 1970s, I discovered what was then a new recording on Deutsche Grammophon, conducted by Leopold Hager. The brio and virtuosity of the arias was exhilarating.
'Tis almost fairy time - Parterre Box
Tytania (Jeysla Rosario Santos), Oberon (Sam Higgins), and the fairies (Philadelphia Youth Choral Ensemble members). Photo by Tracie Van Auken It begins with a bed. But if you’re thinking, “Well, sure: A Midsummer Night’s Dream is at least in part a sex comedy” — think again. The bed, seen here at the side of the stage in eerie half-light, is rumpled and uninviting. Set on a severe iron frame, it suggests a grim Victorian boarding house more than anything romantic.
Now sleeps the crimson petal - Parterre Box
Photo by Jason Ardizzone-West Once upon a time—not even so long ago—royal weddings were the stuff of modern fairy tales. The nuptials of Elizabeth and Philip, and Rainier and Grace, offered ordinary folks a window into almost unimaginable glamour and luxury… and what seemed at the time the promise of idealized bliss. And then came Charles and Diana, Andrew and Fergie, Harry and Megan. So, which is it? Happily ever after? Misery and mess? Something in-between?
Youth has no age - Parterre Box
Photo by DeBalko Photo LLC Even by our indefatigable Maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s standards, March 2026 was quite the endurance test. First came three performances of Mahler’s epic Symphony #2. A day later, he began a run of five Met performance of Tristan und Isolde over the course of a couple of weeks. With three more Tristan’s still to come on his calendar, one might reasonably expect YNS to have taken a few days off… but ‘twas not to be.
Here, there, and everywhere - Parterre Box
David Fox, from the Kimmel Performing Arts Center Two different yet similar stories have dominated classical music news in the last few weeks. Boston Symphony leadership announced they would not renew Andris Nelsons’ contract as Music Director. Reasons for this remain sufficiently opaque to invite speculation (“not aligned on future vision” is a key phrase in the announcement), but Nelsons’ frequent appearances outside of Boston are almost certainly part of it.
The arc of life Review - Complications in Sue | Parterre Box
The arc of Complications in Sue, Opera Philadelphia’s current world premiere, is unimaginable without…well, ARC. That is, of course, Anthony Roth Costanzo, OP’s General Director and President, who has been audaciously reinventing the company since he took hold in 2024. Who else could have assembled a roster of luminaries with this kind of cutting-edge glamour? The librettist is Michael R. Jackson, the Pulitzer and Tony-winning visionary behind A Strange Loop.
Reduce, reuse, recycle - Parterre Box
Nile Scott Studio Opera Philadelphia’s latest offering vibrantly bears the imprimatur of our (still new) General Director and President, Anthony Roth Costanzo.
Form over function - Parterre Box
(Dear Reader: If you’re looking specifically for a review of Anika Kildegaard’s musically extraordinary, theatrically baffling program at the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, jump directly to paragraph five. Otherwise, please indulge me briefly in some personal context.) Growing up in Los Angeles in the days before there was a home-based opera company, my chief exposure to classical singers in live performance came through recitals.
Shades of gray | MasterVoices Review
CAMERON KELSALL: Sweet Smell of Success makes an imperfect case for noir as a musical genre. The adaptation of Ernest Lehman’s classic look at the entertainment industry’s underbelly, crafted by the weighty team of Marvin Hamlisch, John Guare and Craig Carnelia, fizzled quickly on Broadway in 2002. The material has the unpleasant distinction of feeling lightweight and rancorous at the same time.
Museum quality | Opera Philadelphia Review
X marks the spot in Rossini’s Il Viaggio a Reims. No, not Elon Musk’s neutered platform, this is France’s King Charles X (the 10th), whose 1825 coronation in the Reims cathedral was feted with this pièce d’occasion opera by Giacomo Rossini. Viaggio, now opening the Opera Philadelphia season, would prove to be a story in itself.
Höchste Lust! | The Philadelphia Orchestra Review
The announcement that the Philadelphia Orchestra would do two performances of Tristan und Isolde at the close of this season took many of us by surprise. Not because it’s an opera—the Orchestra has done a number of concert and semi-staged performances (La bohème last year, reviewed here), and of course we share our Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin with the Met. But Tristan isn’t just an opera. For many it’s the opera, and to undertake it is a Gradus ad Parnassum for sure.
Smash or pass | Broadway Review
Cameron Kelsall: Shortly after the musical television series Smash debuted on NBC in 2012, the brilliant Gerard Alessandrini spoofed it in his evergreen parody revue, Forbidden Broadway.
Momentum mori | Opera Philadelphia Review
Before any music-making happened, there were clear signs of success. One of the earliest and most daring initiatives of Opera Philadelphia’s new regime led by Anthony Roth Costanzo has been a “Pick Your Price” program, with opera tickets available for as little as $11. At the opening night performance, the Academy of Music was as packed as I’ve ever seen it, with many young people in the audience. When ARC himself took to the stage, the crowd cheered.
I love the flower girl - Parterre Box
Ricky Ian Gordon’s setting of Emily Dickinson’s “We should not mind so small a flower” tells of a single blossom we might barely notice in a garden fading out of season. The recital—conceived by soprano Erin Morley and pianist Gerald Martin Moore—is a far cry from simple. Built on themes of nature—flowers, trees and birds especially—it’s an audacious, ingenious mix of material, brilliantly conceived and superbly performed.
Happiness indeed - Parterre Box
Famously a failure (73 performances) in its original production directed by Tyrone Guthrie, nearly 20 years later it would begin to find more popular success in a new version helmed by Harold Prince. By this point, the original book (by Lillian Hellman, no less) had been jettisoned, and many of the lyrics (Richard Wilbur, John Latouche, Dorothy Parker!) also replaced with newer ones by Stephen Sondheim and others.
More people should listen to Dorothy Maynor
A few notes was all it took to grab me — the silvery sound, unmistakably individual, was of such jaw-dropping beauty and elegant artistry that I was floored. Where had she been?? Well, like so many Black artists of her time, stage opportunities were largely denied her. What a loss for all of us! My first exposure to the now-famous Rusalka moon aria was through Maynor’s English language version–still vocally speaking, for my mind the gold standard.
Brutal Desire
CAMERON KELSALL: Nearly 80 years after its debut, A Streetcar Named Desire remains an unimpeachable play. It withstands whatever directorial intervention or actor’s interpretative choice comes its way. And it certainly faces plenty in the production directed by Rebecca Frecknall, which originated at London’s Almeida Theatre and is now onstage at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
Some old and then some new tricks
CAMERON KELSALL: Mount Everest. The female King Lear. Mama Rose in Gypsy has been described as the most demanding role for women in the musical theater canon, and it remains a pinnacle for Broadway’s greatest divas.
Humming chorus - parterre box
At the Met, General Manager Peter Gelb co-commissioned Grounded by noted theater composer Jeanine Tesori with a libretto by George Brant based on his play. The responses I’ve read so far have been mixed—the all-important New York Times review was quite negative, though others were more enthusiastic.
REVIEW: Lucy Kirkland’s The Welkin at the Atlantic Theater Company
CAMERON KELSALL: When the Atlantic Theater Company announced the American premiere of The Welkin, I had to look up the meaning of the title. The Old English word can be used to refer to the sky itself, as well as to the concept of Heaven. Both of those concepts factor into Lucy Kirkwood’s riveting and unsettling play, which takes place in a rural English Village in the 18th century.
Fox on fox - parterre box
There are good reasons for this. Fundamentally, Vixen is an ensemble piece, with lots of opportunities for singers to shine in supporting roles: even the title character feels less like a star than a member of a community. Vocal demands are, in most cases, not overwhelming. A feeling of youthful exuberance abounds in the septuagenarian composer’s score, which also has numerous child and child-like characters.
If you could see it through my eyes
I can’t bring myself to say much about the garish fiasco that is Rebecca Frecknall’s Cabaret, currently on stage in New York. Many talented people onstage deserve better. The audience certainly does. The production received a well-earned drubbing from critics, whose reviews can be easily found, so I’ll leave that to you.
No strings attached
At the Met, a happy revival reached its climax with Asmik Grigorian’s debut. On the same night, Opera Philadelphia premiered their new production. (If that’s not enough, San Diego Opera also mounted it at the same time.) I’m here to discuss the Philadelphia production, which was musically very strong and sometimes excellent. Theatrically, it’s more complicated—some very interesting ideas alongside questionable ones. More details below. First though, I reflected on this work in this moment.
Crying 'Uncle' - parterre box
More to the point, it seems like an inspired fit. Vanya is a good man with a deep, compassionate heart. He’s also irascible, sarcastic, indolent: his own worst enemy. This odd bundle of traits is very much in sync with Carell’s comic persona. At the same time, the idea is an intriguing stretch. Vanya is one of the great theatrical roles—and a challenge for any actor. For Carell—still known primarily from TV and films—to take it on at the prestigious Lincoln Center venue is at once humble and ballsy.
ARC de triomphe - parterre box
Roth Costanzo intends to maintain his performing career alongside his new administrative responsibilities. Philadelphia correspondent David Fox: What strikes me most here is that I imagined Opera Philadelphia – grappling as so many cultural institutions are with financial uncertainty – might look to an experienced, “safe” leader. Instead, with ARC they’ve made an audacious, glamorous, wild-card choice.
Sack of Rome
I’ve previously seen it only once before, at the Edinburgh Festival in a semi-staging that suited the rather static nature of this chamber opera, which often feels more like an oratorio than a drama. Some of this has to do with the two narrators, called here “Male Chorus” and “Female Chorus.” It’s a device that links to classical Greek drama, of course—but that’s only part of the complex and difficult-to-define character of The Rape of Lucretia.
Why Driving a Few Miles Can Save Patients a Fortune on Health Care
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2024 Forecasts: Retail expectations
In December we published our 2024 Forecasts, in this article we share the insights from our retail sector specialists on the outlook for the 12 months ahead. Retail David Fox – Co-Head of Retail Agency The general occupational flow towards top retailing destinations in the UK continued throughout 2023 and will continue in 2024. Quality space is pressured as various brands expand in the post-pandemic climate.
For so our master said
I saw Leonard Bernstein performing only once, but it was unforgettable. In September 1987, he led the Vienna Philharmonic in two concerts at the Hollywood Bowl. The one I attended centered on Mahler’s Symphony #5. I wish I could hear it again… or at least, that I knew as much about Mahler then as I do now. But even in my naivete, I recall it as magical—idiosyncratic in places, certainly (we’d expect no less from Bernstein) but spellbinding. Certainly, the audience seemed to agree.
"The most essential blog in opera!" - New York Times | Where opera is king and you, the readers, are queens.
Voices from far and wide across the opera world, including your writers, are excited to fête this bittersweet milestone and look forward to the next 30 years of the box! Michael Anthonio: To Parterre Box on Your Thirtieth (A Sonnet of Gratitude) Even though thirty in age you are To the opera world and online To near and far queens of various sign You’re undoubtedly the greatest star Although La Cieca has now gone far Her passion still radiates so fine Cover us all like a bright sunshine To...
Giving head voice
In 1829, Gaetano Donizetti dipped into Tudor history with Elisabetta al Castello di Kenilworth, his first opera about Queen Elizabeth I. But it was a year and a few operas later that what we now consider his Tudor Queens trilogy began, in a sequence that followed historical chronology. Anna Bolena (1830) focuses on the doomed queen, compassionately portrayed in Felice Romani’s libretto.
Unchanged for good
Days before the Wicked tour docked at the Academy of Music for a month-long stop, the show celebrated the 20th anniversary of its Broadway premiere. This momentous event was grandly feted in New York, including curtain call appearances by Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel at the Gershwin Theatre.
Rotten Eggs
It was a matter of chance that I should have rented a house in one of the strangest communities in North America. It was on that slender riotous island which extends itself due east of New York—and where there are, among other natural curiosities, two unusual formations of land.
Growers and showers
My own attendance goes back to the early 2000s, and the winners have included a handful of fast-rising stars, including in a very strong three-year span: Stephen Costello (2005), Joyce El-Khoury (2006), and Angela Meade (2007). Did lightning strike again this time?
Unfit to print
"The most essential blog in opera!" – New York Times | Where opera is king and you, the readers, are queens. In Gutenberg! The Musical!, two hapless aspirants from New Jersey scrape their cash together and rent a Broadway theater for a night, intent on impressing the Manhattan cognoscenti with their fanciful farce about the inventor of the printing press.
Georgia on my mind
The moment I’m describing is the announcement earlier this year that Annie Baker’s Infinite Life would have its world premiere at the Atlantic Theater in September 2023. A little context to make things clearer. Two years ago, this play had been set to launch the 2021 season at off-Broadway’s Signature Theatre, but what should have been a joyful reemergence from COVID was not to be. Less than two months before the scheduled opening, the company cancelled Infinite Life.
Some unholy war
"The most essential blog in opera!" – New York Times | Where opera is king and you, the readers, are queens. Unholy Wars, the third offering in Festival O23, is an opera of a kind, but one that requires some explanation.
Dogecoin
Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra had its premiere in 1857 at La Fenice in Venice, and was revised and “re-premiered” at La Scala in 1881. In the intervening 24 years came Un Ballo in Maschera, La Forza del Destino, Don Carlos and Don Carlo, and Aida, as well as some additional tweaking to Macbeth. Simon Boccanegra is not a forgotten opera; then and now, it holds a place in the repertory.
A madhouse is not a home
Joy tinged with melancholy greeted the opening of Festival O23. Joy because it was a full-scale return of this greatly anticipated event by Opera Philadelphia, which since its inception in 2018 has been a definitive mission for the company in establishing it as one of the leading lights among American companies for vision, innovation, and supporting new work.
Getting to be a habit with me
Cameron Kelsall: Let me start off with a little personal history, David. I saw The Light in the Piazza for the first time on June 4, 2005. I count that musical, by Adam Guettel and Craig Lucas, among the monumental theatrical experiences of my life. And by sheer happenstance, you and I ended up seeing their latest collaboration, Days of Wine and Roses, exactly 18 years to the day later.
New York Talking Statues Bring the 1969 Stonewall Uprising to Life
Aided by exciting new technology, the Gay Liberation statues will tell their stories--in so doing, revitalizing the history of Pride. NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES, May 25, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ -- Talking Statues, an international project originally founded in 2013 in Copenhagen, Denmark, is pleased to announce the launch of its latest endeavor—talking statues at the Gay Liberation Monument, part of the Stonewall National Monument in Greenwich Village.
Backwards runs ‘Bohème’
“This,” of course, is director Yuval Sharon‘s production of Puccini’s opera, which reconfigures the four acts in reverse order. So, among many other things, there’s no spoiler alert: Mimi is mortally ill from the start. Sharon’s reordering is surely the boldest and most discussed aspect of his production, and for me it’s effective. For me and many opera lovers, Bohème is a very familiar work—but seeing it this way sharpened my perceptions of the individual relationships and changing circumstances.
Artists with enough ‘oomph’?
Before last weekend’s Met Grand Finals (now officially known as the Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition), I had attended this annual event in person only once. That was in 2001, and even 22 years later, it remains a happy memory: a dear friend, the soprano Melissa Citro, won Second Place, and Lawrence Brownlee, to the roaring approval of the crowd, took First. But I’m no stranger to this kind of event.
Arch types
Do you first notice the clever conflation of fairy tale stories? Some here are famous and traditional (Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood); others (The Baker and the Baker’s Wife) were invented by Lapine, who wrote the book and directed the original production, and Sondheim, who of course is the composer and lyricist. Mashed-up together and sometimes on a collision course, they serve as the show’s primary narrative.
They trod a path that many have trod
Cameron Kelsall: David, you and I recently attended the tale of Sweeney Todd, now which is back on Broadway in a large-scale revival starring Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford. And even though I’ve been intimately familiar with the material for over two decades—and have taken in several prior productions—it felt almost as if I was seeing the musical for the first time.
Somewhere in time
“Die Zeit die ist ein sonderbar Ding.” Time is also a flexible thing in the Met’s current Der Rosenkavalier, where director Robert Carsen has updated the period from Hugo von Hofmannsthal and RIchard Strauss’s original setting—the 18th Century—to 1911, the year of the work’s premiere. Makes sense, right? Well, yes and no.
Did I mention there’s a mime?
Dear World, composer-lyricist Jerry Herman’s 1969 musical that closed after a four-month run, is now remembered chiefly on two counts. First, it was Herman’s unsuccessful follow-up to his juggernaut, Mame—especially in providing another star turn for the great Angela Lansbury, still early in her ascendancy as a first-tier musical theater legend. Second, it has a handful of first-rate Herman songs.
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