The whimsical staging, combined with the dynamic performances of the chorus and the orchestra, brought out the impish humor in "Dido and Aeneas".
A performance of the "Anvil Chorus" from Verdi's "Trovatore," complete with video close-ups of the anvils being hammered, earned hearty bravos for the Met's choristers.
Excerpts from Handel's music, some played on tape, some sung by Ms. Miller and Ms. Smyth, and culminating in a performance of the "Hallelujah" chorus by the entire cast, though not exactly elegant, provide welcome relief from the aggressive comedy of the play and the production.
Before a performance of the "Chorus Line" song "What I Did for Love," which attendees were invited to join, Mr. Hamlisch's widow, Terre Blair Hamlisch, spoke of the small domestic joy her husband took when he could get her to admit he'd been right about something.
It was a wonderful idea to precede a performance of Ives's Symphony No. 4 with a performance by the chorus of five hymns that Ives incorporated into this path-breaking symphony.
At times, especially in Act I, the performance of the orchestra and chorus was insecure and shaky.
The release of the charity single follows a performance of the song by the chorus at the London vigil to honour Orlando's victims.
The conductor Fabio Luisi drew a dynamic performance from the chorus of Saxon State Opera and the Dresden Staatskapelle orchestra.
So the furore over the Boston performance of three choruses from the opera, scheduled for November, was hardly unexpected.
I find it curious that Anthony Tommasini would castigate the Boston Symphony Orchestra for canceling the performance of choruses from "The Death of Klinghoffer".
