Lili Elbe’s story is an important one, especially for the Transgender community. Born in 1882, Elbe became a noted painter (known as Einar Wegener) and married Gerda Gottlieb in 1904. By the 1920s, Elbe was presenting herself as a woman and took on the name of Lili and stopped painting. In 1930, she went to Germany for gender-affirmation surgery, changed {…}
One of the headline operas for this year’s Wexford Festival Opera is Marco Tutino’s 2015 work “La Ciociara,” written for San Francisco Opera. The opera is based on Alberto Moravia’s 1957 novel, which was later turned into a film directed by Vittorio De Sica and starring Sophia Loren, for which she won an Oscar for best actress. The film now {…}
Photos credit: Frances Marshall/Marshall Light Studio Lada Valešová, with her multifaceted role as a conductor, pianist, and coach, has a particular love for Janáček and Tchaikovsky. At 12 years old, an essential audition nudged Valešová towards a musical journey. Years later, she was working on operas such as “Cunning Little Vixen” and “Eugene Onegin.” Valešová has been recognized with a {…}
This past week, the Arizona Opera presented the world premiere of Greg Kallor’s second opera “Frankenstein.” Kallor is a composer and pianist whose first opera “The Tell-Tale Heart” will be performed at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. He has also collaborated Dover and Escher String Quartets and Tuesday Musical and has also performed in recital at Carnegie Hall. {…}
Italian Maestro Daniele Callegari is scheduled to lead performances of Giuseppe Verdi’s “Nabucco” at The Metropolitan Opera this season, September through October 2023, and December through January 2024. The lead roles will be performed by George Gagnidze as Nabucco, Liudmyla Monastyrska as Abigaille, and Dmitry Belosselskiy as Zaccaria. Callegari made his American debut in 2007, leading a concert performance of {…}
In 1930, Spanish painter Elías García Martínez created a fresco of Jesus crowned with thorns in the Santuary of Mercy Church in Borja. It was called “Ecce Homo” or “Behold the Man.” Eighty-two years later, Cecilia Giménez, an 81-year-old amateur artist with minimal training, revealed to the media that she had attempted to restore the painting which had been affected {…}
It’s late September in New York and a major European director is staging a unique new work at a historic venue. And it stars Jonas Kaufmann, making his return to the Big Apple for the first time in two years. Described by director Claus Guth as a “highly emotional trip” in a recent interview with OperaWire, “Doppelgänger” is gracing the {…}
(Credit: Matt Donnelly) At the beginning of August, around 50 students went to Vail, Colorado to participate in the Vail Opera Camp. The camp, which is a 10-day experience, brought students from ages 10 to 18 from all over the country to hone in on their craft of singing as well as learning about the art of opera from the {…}
Credit Frank Caliri Jonathan McPhee boasts a diverse musical portfolio. As the Music Director for the Lexington Symphony in Massachusetts and a Guest Conductor at the Houston Ballet, his expertise doesn’t stop there — he’s also a composer and arranger. With an affinity for arranging, he’s notably transformed grand pieces, such as Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” and “Firebird” into reductions. {…}
Gregg Kallor’s “Frankenstein” is commissioned by Arizona Opera and will make its world premiere in October 2023 with performances in Phoenix and Tucson. This opera in two acts; adapted from Mary Shelley’s novel, brings to the surface humanity’s dire need for greater empathy. Composer and librettist Gregg Kallor in collaboration with director Sarah Meyers, dramaturg Cori Ellison and conductor Nicole {…}
(Photo Credit: Ken Howard) Does opera seen at the movies count as its own experience? With the advent of streamed opera in movie theaters, the idea that filmed opera can somehow replace or make up for the real-life experience is a touchy point. Of course, one can’t compare the feeling of being in an opera house with being in a {…}