James Levine will conduct the New Year’s Eve gala of Puccini’s “Tosca” at the Metropolitan Opera replacing Andris Nelsons. The Metropolitan Opera announced the news with Nelsons citing no reason for the cancellation. Nelsons is the third major cancellation of the star-studded production. Earlier this year Jonas Kaufmann stunned the world when he opted out of the production, telling reporters he wanted {…}
James Levine is one of the most influential people in the history of 20th-century opera. The Metropolitan Opera’s maestro has led the company for four decades, essentially making himself the face of the opera house during that time period. The conductor, born on June 23, 1943, is now entering the twilight of his career but remains strong in his endeavors. {…}
We’ve talked up the finest female performers. We’ve engaged in a discussion about the best men onstage. Now we shift over to the best conductors of the year, the artists that make the entire production work. In this edition, we only picked five, given that, unlike the other categories, there are far fewer to choose from. Here are our favorite {…}
We have gone through emotional anecdotes. We sifted through some of the essential nights in the new house’s history. Now we turn to the people that have made it great. In compiling a list of the 50 most influential people in the history of the new house, we realized rather early on that we would be leaving many people out {…}
Wagner’s first masterpiece “Der Fliegende Holländer” returns to the Metropolitan Opera on Tuesday, April 25 after a seven-year absence. Despite being well-known throughout the opera world, “The Flying Dutchman,” as translated in English, has had a rather interesting history at the Met marked by long hiatuses. The opera opened the 1889-1890 season in its first-ever performance. The cast that included {…}
As the career of the great James Levine enters its twilight, major organizations are finding ways to recognize his work. The Metropolitan Opera, where he has been for decades has already made him music director emeritus and it seems that another organization is just as ready to create a position to honor him. Enter Ravinia, which has now conferred on {…}
Pretty Yende will perform with the Metropolitan Opera orchestra in Carnegie Hall during the 2017-18 season. The acclaimed South African coloratura will perform Mahler’s “Symphony No. 4” and Mozart’s “Exsultate, Jubilate,” replacing the originally planned Brahms Symphony No. 4. The program will also feature a world premiere by Carles Wuorinen entitled “Eros and Nemesis” and will be conducted by Music Director Emeritus {…}
Matthew Polenzani loves Mozart’s “Idomeneo.” During a recent interview with OperaWire, the tenor went so far as to call it the composer’s “greatest opera.” That’s right, with output that includes gems such as “Le Nozze di Figaro,” “Don Giovanni,” “Così Fan Tutte” and “Die Zauberflote,” Polenzani, who is among the greatest exponents of these very operas, puts his marker on {…}
This review is for the premiere on opening night of the run, March 6, 2017. Mozart’s “Idomeneo” has accrued quite the history at the Met since its premiere in 1982. It has been sung by major singers that include the likes of Plácido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti, Ileana Cortrubas, Hildegard Behrens, Frederica Von Stade and Carol Vaness among many others. Safe {…}
This Monday, March 6, Mozart’s “Idomeneo” returns to the Metropolitan Opera for a run featuring some of the world’s greatest singers. “Idomeneo” is one of the rare Mozart operas that only gets a look every once in a while. It was the composer’s 13th work for the operatic stage and came right before the ever popular “Abduction from the Seraglio.” {…}
The Metropolitan Opera has announced its 2017-18 season and as promised, it contains a lot of hotly anticipated productions and performances. Here is a quick rundown with OperaWire set to include additional content throughout the day. The New Productions The Metropolitan Opera season will feature five new productions. David McVicar’s new production of Bellini’s “Norma” will open the season on {…}