By Patrick O’Brien As theaters begin opening their doors again, the invitations have been coming in thick and fast. So, in a bit of a fluke, I ended up with a weekend chock full o’ opera. Here’s a rundown on the offering: the old, the new, the old made new, etc. *** Shakespeare’s Macbeth, either
Chicago Opera Theater’s ‘Hija de Rappaccini’: an intoxicating promise for site-specific opera?
By Patrick O’Brien Call it making the best of a last-minute change of program; call it community outreach in the midst of a pandemic; call it testing the waters for future site-specific productions. At least call it what it is: a dang good showing. Chicago Opera Theater intended to mount a production of the late Daniel
Chicago Opera Theater’s ‘Taking Up Serpents’ stings (and sings) so good
By Patrick O’Brien I wasn’t quite sure what to make of TAKING UP SERPENTS, Chicago Opera Theater’s latest streaming offering, a potent creation where the barrier separating religious ecstasy and deadly poison is so fluid. Literal, even, considering it’s about the fallout of a Pentecostal snake handler’s ministry. So I did something I hadn’t really
