Seattle summers are glorious, and Seattle Opera’s sunny production of Donizetti’s “L’elisir d’amore” made this summer even more so. This tuneful comic diversion, originally mounted at the Santa Fe Opera, had just the right amount of sentimentality to put a smile on your face, and Donizetti’s hummable score goes down as easy as a bowl of pistachio gelato. Leaning into {…}
Opera Hong Kong is set to present Donizetti’s “Don Pasquale” on August 13 and 14, 2022. The showcase, which will take place at Hong Kong City Hall’s Concert Hall, will star Apollo Wong in the title role with Candice Chung and Anna Zhang as Norina. Albert Lim and Alexander Chen will alternate as Dr. Malatesta, and Henry Ngan and Jiang {…}
The Guangzhou Opera House opened a new production of Donizetti’s “Rita” on June 30, 2022. The production will run through July 2, 2022. The production was originally premiered at the 2020 Italia Mia Festival in Hong Kong and was directed by Peter Gordon, who directed this new version remotely due to COVID border restrictions. “We had to direct it remotely {…}
(Photo: Pat Redmond) Irish National Opera continues to march forward. Although only in its fifth year, it has managed to establish itself as an innovative, forward-thinking company of high quality, which successfully mixes traditional productions with new works and modern presentation methods. Whereas many companies closed down during the COVID crisis, INO used it to showcase new short operas via {…}
ABAO Txiki is set to close out its 2021-22 season with “Allegro Vivace.” The showcase, which is set for May 14 and 15, 2022, will feature three performances for families in Bilbao, Spain. “Allegro Vivace” was created by Joan Font and tells the story of a young girl, who in her rush to find a locale for a party, ends {…}
(Photo credit: Marty Sohl) This review was written in collaboration with David Salazar. On April 23, the Metropolitan Opera opened a new production of “Lucia di Lammermoor.” This marked the second production of Donizetti’s masterpiece during General Manager Peter Gelb’s term. In 2007, the company brought a production by Mary Zimmerman which set the piece in Victorian times and {…}
(Credit: Javier del Real) On the 30th of March the acclaimed American soprano Lisette Oropesa offered a solo recital at Madrid’s Teatro Real. She presented an interesting program, mostly in French, of six rarely performed arias and two encores. Being a lirico leggera soprano, half of her arias kept her voice in the middle register and showcased little coloratura and {…}
The Opera Buffs are set to present “An Evening of Donizetti” on May 13, 2022. The company will present two scenes from Acts one and two from “Lucia di Lammermoor” followed by Act one from “La Fille du Régiment.” “Lucia” will star Michelle Drever in the title role with Ben Lowe as Enrico, Jesús León as Edgardo, Chris Hunter as {…}
The Vienna State Opera has announced a cast change for the Feb. 22, 2022 performance of “Anna Bolena.” For the second time in this run, Nicholas Brownlee will join the famed opera, taking on the role of Enrico VIII. He joins a cast starring Diana Damrau in the title role with Ekaterina Semenchuk as Giovanna Seymour and Pene Pati as {…}
Random Opera is set to stream its production of “L’Elisir d’Amore” starting on Feb. 10, 2022. The opera was directed by Richard Tegid Jones and conducted Kelvin Lim. The cast includes soprano Julieth Lozano as Adina, Andrew Henley as Nemorino, Mike Dewis as Belcore, Becca Madden as Giannetta, and the director himself, Richard Tegid Jones, as Dr. Dulcamara. The opera’s {…}
(Credit: Teatro Lirico di Cagliari official website) The Teatro Lirico di Cagliari has announced its 2022 season, featuring five operas. Here is a full slate. Operas Martina Serafin, Marta Mari, Elena Schirru, Antonello Palombi, Mickael Spadaccini, Roberto Frontali, Leon Kim, Giuseppina Piunti, Alessandro Spina, Christian Collia, and Patrizio La Placa star in the Leo Muscato’s production of Licinio Refice’s “Cecilia.” {…}