FOC In the News & Reviews

Recent News Coverage

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Convincing Opera Fans to Sing a Different Tune

Paul Kosidowski profiles General Director William Florescu and the changing artistic vision of the Florentine for My Midwest magagine.

 

New season offers surprises beyond 'Río'

Jim Higgins of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes about plans for our upcoming 2010-2011 season.

 

Recent Reviews

Rigoletto

Tom Strini of ThirdCoast Digest: "This time around with Verdi’s Rigoletto, the Florentine Opera is trying something a little different. Designer Noele Stollmack dispensed with the velour and the fake gold leaf and set the action amid a versatile anywhere of platforms and staircases, with many access points for easy entrance and exit. The cast looked very comfortable moving about the set. The skill of the actors, the mood of the lighting and our imaginations filled in the locales."

Elaine Schmidt of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Florentine's Rigoletto: Glorious music, well sung."

Rick Walters of the Shepherd Express: "Sparse 'Rigoletto'"

Elmer Gantry

Karyl Charna Lynn of Opera Now: "Robert Aldridge's Elmer Gantry, revived by the Florentine Opera after its world premiere by the Nashville Opera...seems as relevant today as when Sinclair Lewis's novel, on which Herschel Garfein's libretto is based, was published over 80 years ago."

Mark Thomas Ketterson of Opera News: "Florentine Opera's revival, utilizing many of the original Nashville forces, heralded a number of regional outings to come and provided a welcome opportunity to reconfirm the opera's potency."

Paul Masterson of QUEST: "Elmer Gantry is a unique, rare, socially critical and contemporary American opera. For that reason, the audience was noticeably younger and diverse - an optimistic sign that a new American repertory may, in fact, attract a new demographic to fill the house. The Florentine Opera has made a major stride in daring to present something fresh, compelling and political. The message was certainly there."

Jody Hirsh of the Wisconsin Gazette: "The Florentine’s Elmer Gantry...was a triumph that was thankfully recorded for posterity by the Naxos International record label."

OperaOnline: " A landmark American opera that should be celebrated."

Rick Walters of the Shepherd Express: "Mixed Results for Elmer Gantry."

Roberto Romani of OperaRat: "Elmer Gantry - Music to Opera's Ear."

William R. Weinke of News 3 (Madison, WI): "Milwaukee opera company stages an ever-relevant Elmer Gantry."

Paul Kosidowski of Culture Club/Milwaukee Magazine: "Judging from the ovations after the performance, Milwaukee is ready for more contemporary opera, particularly if it as sonically striking and dramatically potent as Elmer Gantry."

Tom Strini of ThirdCoast Digest: "Ambitious Elmer Gantry initially distracts, but triumphs in Act 2."

Elaine Schmidt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Seeing a new opera, one that's written in your language and based on your culture no less, is quite a treat."

Tosca

Culture Club/Milwaukee Magazine's Paul Kosidowski: "Production relies on artistry rather than the grandiose."

Tom Strini of ThirdCoast Digest: "Review: The Florentine's Tosca"

Elaine Schmidt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Lovely singing and a nearly bare stage..."