Opera

Le Nozze di Figaro

Review Quotations Winner of the 2012-2013 Austin Critics’ Table Award for Best Opera Production Strong voices, excellent acting…fabulously entertaining: In Austin Lyric Opera’s “Figaro,”…the pleasures are many: Sexual innuendo, bedroom stowaways and intricate schemes gave the audience belly-laughs…its characters actually come across as flesh and blood people instead of “types.”… the principals bring a charisma …

Le Nozze di Figaro Read More »

Taming of the Shrew (Opera)
Der Wilderspenstigen Zahmung

Video Excerpt https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/56097163 Review Quotations Taming of the Shrew – 4 Stars out of 5: WAAPA’s presentation of The Taming of the Shrew brings several layers of highly-skilled entertainment to the Geoff Gibbs Theatre, in the Australian premiere of Herman Goetz’s opera…Chuck Hudson has worked with some fine young talent to bring out their best, …

Taming of the Shrew (Opera)
Der Wilderspenstigen Zahmung
Read More »

Rigoletto

Review Quotations Spontaneous applause…That’s what happened repeatedly Friday at Spa Little Theater, when Opera Saratoga opened its 51st season with one of the world’s favorite operas: Guiseppe Verdi’s “Rigoletto.”… In Hudson’s production, spandex skirts and bad suits and ankle boots announced a contemporary setting… with neon lights spelling out the tawdry surroundings where Rigoletto met …

Rigoletto Read More »

The Magic Flute

Review Quotations Strong principals help make TCO’s ‘Flute’ a winner. How can you lose with Mozart? You can’t. I attended the final dress rehearsal Wednesday evening for Tri-Cities Opera’s production of Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) and was not disappointed…Stage director Chuck Hudson wisely kept the action flowing, which helped to delineate the scenes while …

The Magic Flute Read More »

Rigoletto

Review Quotations Sacramento Opera returns to full-length production with tasteful ‘Rigoletto’. (With) the return of former music director Timm Rolek as conductor and Chuck Hudson directing…this production signals that the company is back to producing full-length opera and in this production they have done so tastefully – which should always be a hallmark of this …

Rigoletto Read More »

Hansel und Gretel

Review Quotations Opera Cleveland serves up a hearty and graceful “Hansel and Gretel”. Chuck Hudson’s fluid staging kept the events moving blissfully along, with fine attention to characterization and atmosphere…the inventive episode during the pantomime featuring Hansel and Gretel’s deceased mother (danced by Lisa L. Lock) added psychological resonance. – Donald Rosenberg, Plain Dealer Reporter …

Hansel und Gretel Read More »

The Turn of the Screw

Review Quotations Daring ‘Turn of the Screw’ thrills with a fine cast: In the Sacramento Opera’s deeply engaging and highly provocative production of Benjamin Britten’s “The Turn of the Screw,” sexual awakening is the dramatic fuse that sets the drama on fire…Chuck Hudson’s crisp and erotically veiled direction is filled with just the right fervor …

The Turn of the Screw Read More »

La Bohème

Review Quotations The Berkshire Opera’s first production of Puccini’s little masterpiece about love and friendship in the springtime of life succeeds under Chuck Hudson’s staging for a simple reason: It seems real, delightfully and painfully so… The accent in Hudson’s conceit for this “Bohème” is on realism. One never senses a mere traffic cop moving …

La Bohème Read More »

Madama Butterfly

Review Quotations Madama Butterfly soars with simplicity. Stillness has a way of making sudden gestures seem profound. On Saturday, the Shreveport Opera’s production of “Madama Butterfly” soared because it made the simplest actions ” either strewing flowers petals or unsheathing a dagger ” overflow with emotion. The production was directed by Chuck Hudson and conducted …

Madama Butterfly Read More »

Le Comte Ory

Review Quotations Imagine Boccaccio channeled by Monty Python and you’ll have some idea of the hilarity of Wolf Trap Opera Company’s production of Rossini’s Le Comte Ory…The splendid 20-member cast revels in outrageous overacting and onstage wardrobe malfunctions. The set’s angles and proportions are all wrong — which is exactly right. See Le Comte Ory …

Le Comte Ory Read More »