There are ways to attend an opera in Washington at a ticket price that will not make you cry. The easiest way is to go to a performance from one of the smaller or collegiate companies, where the reasonable ticket price will translate into hearing lesser singers or a piano or small instrumental ensemble instead of a full orchestra. If you want the true experience of opera, however — that “exotic and irrational entertainment” described…

Classical music has come back from summer vacation, and that means you actually have a choice of concerts this week. Most importantly, many of the city’s leading groups are opening the season with glittering events. Look for reviews next week. >> Washington National Opera is opening its fall season with one of the most popular operas in the repertoire, Puccini’s La Bohème (September 15 to 30). For all its audience-pleasing qualities, this opera is a…

On Saturday night, the Washington National Opera opened its best production of the season, with David Alden’s modernized staging of Leoš Janáček’s Jenůfa. Washington is the last of the three cities co-producing this version to see it on the stage, after a well-received 2004 premiere at Houston Grand Opera and an overwhelming critical success last fall at English National Opera, where it won the Laurence Olivier Award for best new opera production. Janáček adapted the…

This Saturday evening, the Washington National Opera opens its highly anticipated production of Leoš Janáček’s Jenůfa. This is only the second Janáček opera in the history of the WNO, with one Cunning Little Vixen done in English translation in 1993. This new production directed by David Alden premiered at Houston Grand Opera in 2004: after it played to critical success last fall at English National Opera, it won the Laurence Olivier Award for best new…

There is little doubt that the main event this week is the opening of the final part of the Washington National Opera’s season. The company’s penultimate production, Leoš Janáček’s Jenůfa in a staging by David Alden, won the Laurence Olivier Award this year for best new opera production. For reasons beyond understanding, not a single performance has sold out, although this is likely to be the high point of the WNO season. Some people may…

It’s that time of the year again, when every choral group in the city has a Lenten concert, an Easter concert, or a Holy Week concert. We start this week with some of the best ones for the upcoming week. PREACHING FROM THE CHOIR: >> When the first concert on the list requires a trip to Baltimore, you know that it is going to be good. The Tallis Scholars, one of the best choral groups…

The 2006 season from Washington National Opera finally opened Saturday night with an opera that I was thrilled to see and hear live, Béla Bartók’s A Kékszakállú herceg vára (Duke Bluebeard’s Castle, premiered at the Budapest Opera in 1918). The Ambassador of Hungary, András Simonyi — fresh from a hilarious appearance on the Colbert Report — was so happy that he helped host the opening night WNO gala in honor of the 50th anniversary of…

One of those stereotypes about classical music that I would like to explode is that it is the musical equivalent of a dusty museum. Yes, classical musicians often play music from previous centuries, but the performances themselves are very much modern and of our time. What’s more is that often classical musicians play new music, and that is an exciting thing to hear. RELATIVELY NEW: >> A favorite local group devoted to contemporary music, the…

You have a few more performances this month before the Washington National Opera season ends. We have reviewed both productions for you at DCist and I recommend them both. On Monday (May 22, 7 p.m.) and Saturday (May 27, 7 p.m.) are the final two performances of Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito, an opera that is not all that well known but that has some great music — Mozart at the height of his compositional…

Last week, I recommended the final production of Washington National Opera’s season to you. Monday night, DCist was in the audience for the second performance of Rossini’s L’Italiana in Algeri, and I can now say confidently that this production is a “smashing success” (as Tim Page described it for the Post). While not perfect as I heard it, the voices and musical performance are all of high quality and the wacky story is likely to…