Credit: Francesco Bondi Each year, The Haydn Foundation of Bolzano and Trento presents a short program of operas with an emphasis on the new and experimental, which, this season, included the world premiere of “Peter Pan, The Dark Side,” written by the composer Wolfgang Mittere and librettist David Pountney. The idea for the work came from the foundation’s artistic director, {…}
J.M. Barrie’s “Peter Pan,” the mischievous, free-spirited child who never grows up, has exerted a hold over children and even many adults for well over 100 years. His adventures set in Neverland, with its array of comic book characters such as Captain Hook, Tinker Bell, the crocodile, the Lost Boys, and Wendy, have fascinated and entertained over the generations. Peter {…}
Photo: Andrea Macchia Situated within easy reach of the Dolomites and the Alps lies the small Tyrolean city of Bolzano. Formally part of the Austrian Empire, it was ceded to Italy at the end of World War I, and despite Mussolini’s subsequent attempt to Italianize the town, it still retains much of its Austrian heritage, with a quarter of the {…}
It has been announced that Welsh National Opera Artistic Director David Pountney will receive the honor of knighthood for his services to opera. Pountney, whose hit production of “Katya Kabanova” at the 1972 Wexford Festival brought him international recognition, served as English National Opera’s Director of Productions and as a guest director at some of the foremost opera houses around {…}
Staging a new production of a Ring cycle is always daunting because of history; no other opera is held up in comparison to previous productions more than Wagner’s grand gesamtkunstwerk. How David Pountney’s new production, now halfway complete at Lyric Opera of Chicago, holds up to history remains to be seen after his “Die Walküre” opened Wednesday night in front {…}
We know the performers. Now let’s find out a little about the people that will be charged with picking the winners. The 2017 edition of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World judging panel features a total of eight major figures, all of them of international renown. Here is a quick rundown of the eight judges. Grace Bumbry Bumbry is one {…}