On Saturday night, Washington National Opera opened its fall season with an oh-so-edgy rendition of a tired old chestnut, Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème. It is the fifth mounting of this opera by WNO since 1984, which works out to a production every four or five years on average. Film director Mariusz Treliński created this new production for the Teatr Wielki in Warsaw, which also gave Washington his Butterfly and Andrea Chénier. The aim, laudable…

The 2006-07 season of the Washington National Opera comes to a close next week, with a concert appearance by several of its singers at the Music Center at Strathmore (May 31, 8 p.m.) and the last performance of its final production, Macbeth (June 2, 7 p.m.). It is time to take stock of the company’s achievements this season and look forward to what it will offer the city next year. Four productions this season were…

FRIDAY: >> The EU Film Showcase kicked off at the AFI Silver Theater and Cultural Center last weekend, and we’ll have a little more about it for you this weekend. In the meantime film buffs should consider checking out Bergman Island, a documentary by another Swedish filmmaker, Marie Nyeröd, that visits legendary director Ingmar Bergman at his home on the island of Fårö. Now 88 years old, this is no doubt the final document of…

The opening night of Washington National Opera’s final production of the fall, Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, offers yet another opportunity to wonder why in the world this opera remains so popular with American audiences. Most opera fans, myself included, love this opera because the music, especially for the title character, is some of the most memorable that Puccini penned. However, the libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica tells a story that should inspire disgust….

Members of the Kirov Opera and its Orchestra, normally in residence at the historic Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia, come to the Kennedy Center periodically to present touring productions of operas and other great pieces of music. Last night, we were in the Opera House to see the first performance of their staging of Giacomo Puccini’s last and perhaps greatest opera, Turandot. It was an excellent show, with well-performed music and a splashy, colorful…