SOURCE: “Human Comedies,” in New York, Vol. 23, No. 32, August 20, 1990, p. 124.

In the following review, Davis praises the New York City Opera's performance of A Little Night Music, yet criticizes Sondheim's music and lyrics as clumsy and unpolished.

Perhaps one day in the not too distant future, the New York City Opera will feel confident enough to launch its midsummer season with a bold flourish. Long before Christopher Keene took command of the company, over a year ago, conventional wisdom dictated that sweltering urbanites and operagoing tourists would tolerate nothing more exotic than Carmen before Labor Day, and that comfy policy continues. At least the pop-opera repertory chosen from stock for the opening week this year—The Marriage of Figaro, Lucia di Lammermoor, and Madama Butterfly—seemed more thoughtfully considered and carefully prepared than in some summers past.

In this context, the new production of Stephen Sondheim's A Little...