Tosca 2015 “..this proved to be a deeply moving Tosca, powerfully sung and sensibly staged—the kind of performance that reinvigorated this overly familiar score and made it seem fresh and vital.”

“A seasoned Scarpia, with eighty-four Met performances of Tosca to
his credit, [James] Morris sounded in excellent form, and his fine bass-baritone made ‘Va, Tosca’ the most frightening moment of the evening….the most notable performance…was the thrilling Tosca of Alexandra LoBianco….The artists were directed to brilliant effect by PORT artistic director Dona D. Vaughn, who made actors of all her musicians even in the little moments.”

Maine’s PORTopera marked its twentieth anniversary with Rigoletto (seen July 23), staged by the company’s artistic director, Dona D. Vaughn, and conducted by Stephen Lord. Vaughn updated the opera to the 1920s, enabling the audience to experience the tragedy in a world of ruthless bosses and their henchmen.

PORTopera’s Young Artists Program, which opened its six-performance series Friday night at USM’s Hannaford Auditorium, is a double-bill of vocal virtuosity by Mozart and Donizetti, well costumed and professionally sung by some already accomplished young artists.

“… a superb job top to bottom; the audience, knowing it had witnessed something extraordinary, stood in salute.”

For anyone who believes that opera is at its best when it takes on important, if often uncomfortable social and historical issues – rather than, say, the woes of a thwarted romance between a rich kid and a courtesan – this year’s presentation of Jack Perla‘s “An American Dream” is a must-see production.

Stephen Lord’s conducting of his responsive orchestra and singers was exemplary, from the haunting intimations of the prelude to the dramatic force of the powerful closing chorus of Act II.