Erwin Schrott, Willard White, Matthew Polenzani & Klára Kolonits Lead Hungarian State Opera’s 2021-22 Season

The Hungarian State Opera has announced its 2021-22 season featuring new productions, revivals, and concerts. Here is a look: Premiere Andrea Szántó stars in Calixto Bieto’s new production of Bizet’s “Carmen.” The opera also features Szabolcs Brickner , Kinga Kriszta, Gábor Bretz , and Zoltá Nagy . Balázs Kocsár conducts. Performance Dates: Sept. 3-Oct. 10, 2021 Beethoven/Strauss’ “König Stephan / {…}

Apr 25, 2020

Plácido Domingo, Diana Damrau, Mariella Devia Headline Teatro alla Scala’s Streaming Options Through May 8

The Teatro alla Scala has unveiled its streaming slate all the way up to May 8, 2020. All performances can be viewed on Rai5 or RaiPlay. On April 28, 2020, the company will present a 2014 showcase of Verdi’s “Il Trovatore” conducted by Daniele Rustioni. The cast includes Marcelo Álvarez, Maria Agresta, Franco Vassallo, and Ekaterina Semenchuk. On April 29, {…}

Mar 28, 2018

March Madness Part 4: 5 Favorite ‘Lucia Di Lammermoor’ Recordings

March Madness is coming to a close. With it, we’ve gone through memorable mad scenes in opera, breathtaking historic moments, and a little bit of musical history on Lucia’s famous mad scene. To close this year’s series, I want to go through my favorite recordings of “Lucia di Lammermoor.” We’ve focused a lot on this opera as it has the {…}

Mar 23, 2018

Anna Netrebko, Edita Gruberova, Vittorio Grigolo, & Puccini Among Highlights of Hungarian State Opera’s 2018-19 Season

The Hungarian State Opera has announced its 2018-19 season which is slated to includes a whopping 60 repertoire pieces and 16 premieres. The company has stated that the main theme of the season is taking audiences to Puccini’s Italy. There are also a series of concerts with some of opera’s biggest stars. Let’s break it down. Premieres (in order of {…}

Mar 21, 2018

March Madness Part 3: Lucia di Lammermoor’s High F Or Lack Thereof

There is a perception that if you don’t sing an E flat at the end of the mad scene in “Lucia di Lammermoor,” you don’t have the voice for Donizetti’s virtuoso singing. But this is a false tradition that has been implanted in opera lover’s minds for too long. I once witnessed an important diva who sang a performance of Lucia {…}

Jan 13, 2017

On This Day: Five Essential Verdi Recordings By Baritone Renato Bruson

Renato Bruson is one of the famous Verdi baritones of all time. His rotund sound had such tremendous range that allowed him to tackle all of the composer’s major roles, almost all to resounding success. He also had such a fantastic technical mastery of his voice that, despite being born on Jan. 13, 1936, he could still be heard singing {…}

andrea rost