Writing
New York, NY
Alternate cast keeps the romance and comedy alight in Met’s “Bohème”
Kristina Mkhitaryan's Mimì and Adam Smith's Rodolfo enchant as Puccini's doomed lovers.
New York, NY
Petrenko and the Berliner Philharmoniker bathe Carnegie Hall in Italian color
Jonas Kaufmann exudes star power despite being a bit under the weather.
New York, NY
Neuwirth’s remarkable score well served live by Parlando with “Die Stadt ohne Juden”
Film and music combine to recreate history with a contemporary perspective.
New York, NY
The Sebastians open season with a buoyant concerto feast
Whoever composed it, David Ross was beguiling in a Baroque flute concerto.
New York, NY
An exciting opening week at the Met Opera and a "La bohème" to match
Freddie De Tommaso to the rescue when the scheduled Rodolfo falls ill.
New York, NY
Kramer opera fails to conjure Yeats mystery effectively at Fordham
Compelling vocal and instrumental writing alone doesn't make an opera.
New York, NY
Lombardi and Hankey lift the musical values in Met’s frenetic Coney Island “Così”
Nimrod David Pfeffer leads graceful and certain performance.
New York, NY
Met opens season with impassioned vocalism in an atmospheric “Macbeth”
Kelsey commands the stage with a Macbeth of mounting terror, guilt and defiance.
New York, NY
ACO opens season in style with dramatic Haydn, bumptious Beethoven
Teacher and pupil meet at the threshold of a new musical era.
New York, NY
A countertenor without limits: Carlo Vistoli in recital at the Park Avenue Armory
A return to tradition with countertenor’s North American recital debut.
About
I got the travel bug from my parents. As a boy I had crisscrossed the US with them and my younger brother on the classic American Road Trip to California. At 16, I went to Europe for the first time. The destination was Germany, a country that I have returned to many times. In addition to business and personal travel, I have lived in Switzerland, Singapore and China.
A musician for most of my life, first a trumpet player and then a singer, I have a degree in music from the University of Pittsburgh. In 2013, A career in law and the insurance industry came next. I began reviewing for Seen and Heard International in 2023, which pointed me in an entirely new direction. In addition to Seen and Heard International, my music and travel articles have been published in the New York Classical Review, Classical Voice North America, Operwire, MusicWeb International, Global Times, and the Shanghai Daily. I also combine my interests in music and travel in personally curated tours in Europe and Asia.