UrbanArias in the news
Check out our great press!
Paul’s Case
“In “Paul’s Case,” given its world premiere on Saturday by the small company UrbanArias, the composer Gregory Spears combines minimalism, baroque gestures, and extended vocal techniques into a distinctive and pungent musical language . . . Unlike many contemporary opera composers, Mr. Spears has a gift for writing ensembles, and they are original . . . the pacing is taut, the nine-piece orchestration vivid and the denouement appropriately wrenching.”
– Heidi Waleson, The Wall Street Journal
Click here to read the full review
” . . . an arresting little piece that communicates its haunting story with clarity and a sense of inevitability . . . There’s a rich group of voices assembled for the intimate performance, led by rising tenor Jonathan Blalock, who is youthful enough to be credible as an incorrigible high schooler whose red carnation clashes so much with his dour, monochromatic surroundings.”
– Roger Catlin, The Washington Post
“I can’t shake the mysterious, disturbing, and yet powerful atmosphere that has been created in Paul’s Case, the latest production by UrbanArias . . . There is something rare and appreciable about hearing and seeing an opera in such an intimate space.”
– Susan Galbraith, DC Theatre Scene
Click here to read the full review
“The words ‘world premiere’ don’t always translate to ‘Must-See,’ but in the case of Paul’s Case, a post-minimalist, compact opera unveiled by UrbanArias at Artisphere, they’re synonymous.”
– Terry Byrne, DCMetroTheaterArts
For the full review, click here
“Hurry, while there are still a few performances of composer Gregory Spear’s new opera Paul’s Case scheduled in the outstanding world premiere production by UrbanArias at the Artisphere in Arlington, Virginia. Everything about this 90-minute chamber opera organized in two acts and five scenes works.”
– Karren Alenier, Scene 4 Magazine
Click here to read the full review
Photo-Op
“It’s wonderful fun, wonderfully directed and performed and, despite that fact that it was written in 1989, eerily timely.”
– Joan Reinthaler, The Washington Post
Click here to read the full review!
Our production of Photo-Op was previewed in the Washington Post on September 7 –
“Audience members will frequently be reminded of real-life politicians, Wood says. ‘There are moments in the opera where you will perhaps remember Sarah Palin, you will perhaps remember the Clintons, you remember things that are coming from stories that we know, because these things happen,’ he says. ‘And they happen again and again.’ ”
Read the whole article, and more Palin-esque quotes from Bob Wood here.
WAMU’s Art Beat also did a piece on us – click here to read it.
Blind Dates
From our recent show at IOTA:
“This is some of the best, most original musicmaking I’ve heard inside the Beltway in a long time.”
- Patrick Rucker, The Washington Post
Read the whole review here.
We made the Huffington Post DC edition! “UrbanArias Brings Opera to IOTA”
Positions 1956 Coverage
The Washington Post did a huge article on UrbanArias and our recent festival: “Short, Sexy and Relevant Operas at UrbanArias”
MetroWeekly has run a short feature on Positions 1956: Muscle Opera
Positions 1956 mentioned in Playbill – click HERE
Reviews for Positions 1956, Before Breakfast and The Filthy Habit
“UrbanArias is a real gem. If opera ever approaches the popular art form it once was, we’ll have them to thank.”
- Mike Paarlberg, Washington City Paper
Click here for the full review.
2011 Reviews
Orpheus and Euridice
” . . . it’s as fine a way to spend an hour as you can find in the District today — and a good augury for a new presence on the local vocal scene.”
- Anne Midgette, The Washington Post
click here for the full review
Green Sneakers
” . . . baritone Ian Greenlaw ably brings the spirit of the missing partner into the room. His voice is rich with emotion, but his acting is what certainly convinced [the audience] of his prowess.”
- Karren Allenier, The Dressing
read the whole review here
Glory Denied
“Baritone Michael Chioldi, the older Jim, had the subtle role in which a small change in timbre and the raising of an eyebrow were all it took to differentiate rejection from resignation; in the intimacy of this performance space, such gestures spoke eloquently. Tenor Kevin Vortmann was compelling and enormously powerful as the young, imprisoned Jim. As the idealized pregnant Alyce of Jim’s imagination, Colleen Daly had the most lyrical assignment and carried it out glowingly. Caroline Worra, tasked with straddling the line between selfish self-preservation and brutal reality, did so magnificently.”
- Joan Reinthaler, The Washington Post
click here for the full review
“Glory Denied happens to be a work of our time; of special meaning to where we live . . . It engages its audience in tonal melodies, intellectual substance, emotional drama, and a concise narrative arc. It holds its own against the greatest of the classical repertoire, while helping to redefine it at the rarer scale of chamber opera.”
- Paul Moon, DCArtsBeat
for the full review, click here
Other Articles about UrbanArias
MetroWeekly’s Spotlight chose UrbanArias as a “Hot Pick”
Also in MetroWeekly, an article about Ricky Ian Gordon’s short pieces
DC Theatre Scene’s article about Ricky Ian Gordon is here
