Spotlight Artists Management is set to present “Christmas in the Village” on Dec. 9, 2022 at St. John’s in the Village in New York City. The showcase will feature music by Korngold, Strauss, Bach, Catalani, Schubert, Ravel, Guastavino, de Falla, Offenbach, Piazzola, and Nataliya Medvedovskaya. Performers include Eugenia Forteza, Zoya Gramagin, Lucas Levy, Sara Beth Pearson, and Daniel Scofield. Alexander {…}
The Sarasota Opera has announced a major cast change for its upcoming production of “La Wally.” Italian soprano Teresa Romano, was originally scheduled to perform in the production, has withdrawn due to illness. In her stead, the company has announced that soprano Caitlin Crabill will take over the title role. Crabill performed the title role in “Turandot” at the company’s {…}
(Credit: Millington) Sarasota Opera will present a fully staged version of Catalani’s “La Wally” starting on March 7, 2020. The production, which will include a total of six performances through March 22, 2020, will be the first in the U.S. in 30 years; the opera, which was written by Luigi Illica, has only been staged eight times in the U.S. {…}
The Teatro Grattacielo will be celebrating its 25th anniversary with a gala performance featuring three unique works by Italian composers. The performance, set for Sept. 28, 2019 at the Gerald Lynch Theater, will feature the first act from Leoncavallo’s “La Bohème,” Act two from Catalani’s “Loreley,” and the third act from Respighi’s “Sleeping Beauty.” The performance will be conducted by {…}
(Photo: Alessia Santambrogio) Alfredo Catalani died prematurely of tuberculosis, at the age of 39, having completed five operas. Today he is really only remembered for one of them, namely “La Wally” and even this receives only an occasional performance, and is known primarily for its famous aria “Ebben.. ne andrò lontana” and the fact one of its main characters, Hagenbach, {…}
Arturo Toscanini is one of the greatest conductors in history. He championed a number of new operas during his time, leading dozens of world premieres. He was a favorite of Puccini, championed the operas of Catalani, and even impressed the young Verdi as a young musician. Throughout his career, he held a plethora of important posts, including music director of La Scala in {…}
First premiering on January 20 1892, “La Wally” is based on a story by Wilhelmine von Hillern titled “Die Geier-Wally: Eine Geschichte aus den Tyroler Alpen.” While possessing a bold heroine and a striking plot, the opera is seldom staged due to the difficulties of recreating the avalanche in Act IV. Despite this, there exist a small handful of recordings of {…}
Francisco Araiza, born on Oct. 4, 1950, is one of the greatest Mexican tenors of all time. He pioneered a path for many singers from Latin America, including such stars as Ramón Vargas and Javier Camarena. He had a tremendously diverse repertoire, stretching from Mozart and Rossini, all the way to Wagner, from whom he took on lead roles in {…}