The Teatro dell’Opera id Roma is set to present Janáček’s “From the House of the Dead” on Rai5. The broadcast will be on Nov. 16 and will feature a production by Krzysztof Warlikowski. The showcase is a co-production with the Royal Opera House Covent Garden di Londra, La Monnaie, and l’Opéra National de Lyon. The cast includes Mark S. Doss {…}
One of the delights from this year’s Janáček Festival was the Brno Conservatory’s production of a work entitled “The Weeping Fountain.” It was a short opera, lasting approximately one hour, which explored the relationship between the composer and his daughter Olga Janáčeková, focusing on the letters she sent to him whilst spending time away from home in St Petersburg. The {…}
(Photo: Festival Janacek Brno) Human beings need love and friendship to flourish and to pursue normal, balanced lives. Remove this support and replace it with abuse, neglect and contempt, and a person will become unable to function successfully. They will become maladjusted, unable to relate to others with ease and confidence, and suffer increasing periods of loneliness and isolation. Desperate {…}
(Photo: Marek Olbrzymek) Would any opera house be bold enough to present a work about the horrors of life in a gulag in which the guilty and innocent are thrown together to be abused, debased and left to die? Undoubtedly, the answer is yes! What if it were to be presented in a Christian context, in which Christ walks among {…}
(Photo: Festival Janacek Brno) Janacek’s song cycle “The Diary of One Who Disappeared” is a regular inclusion at the Janacek Brno Festival. Yet such have been the variety of performances, they can often appear as very different works. At the 2020 festival, the cycle was presented as a staged work using Janáček’s own staging instructions, with Pavol Breslik in the {…}
(Photo: Festival Janacek Brno) In 1902, Janáček’s daughter, Olga, then only 20-years-old, went on a trip to visit her uncle in St. Petersburg. Being a keen admirer of Russia, she was planning to spend an extended period in the Russian capital to deepen her knowledge of the language and its culture, but events took a devastating turn: she caught typhus {…}
Grange Park Opera, Surrey has announced its 2022 season, which will feature operas by Janáček, Ponchielli, Verdi, and Wagner. Several of opera’s biggest stars, including Bryn Terfel, Simon Keenlyside, and Joseph Calleja, are slated to perform opera at its most grand. Here’s what is in store for audiences when the season kicks off in June 2022. First up is Janáček’s {…}
(Credits: Jürgen Frank / Yiorgos Mavropoulos / @ Sony / Gregor Hohenberg / Lukasz Rajchert / Carsten Sander) The Konzerthaus Dortmund has announced its 2021-22 season. For the purpose of this article, we will focus on the vocal works only. Soprano Sophie Karthäuser kicks off the season with a performance of Beethoven‘s “Pastorale.” Laurence Equilbey conducts the production by Carlus {…}
(Credits: Operabase official website / Jiyang Chen / Simon Pauly / Ray Burmiston / Opus 3 Artists official website) The Elbphilharmonie Hamburg has announced its 2021-22 season. For the purposes of this article, we will focus on the vocal works only. Baritone Matthias Goerne presents works by Richard Wagner alongside conductor Manfred Honeck. Performance date: Aug. 29, 2021 Soprano Diana {…}
Radio France has announced its 2021-22 season. For the purpose of this article we will focus only on the vocal works. Here is a look. Operas Ravel’s “L’Enfant et les sortilèges” spotlights Jodie Devos, Clara Guillon, Adèle Charvet, Marie Lenormand, Élodie Méchain, Antoine Normand, Régis Mengus, and Paul Gay. Mikko Franck conducts. Performance date: Oct. 1, 2021, Philharmonie de Paris {…}
(Credits: Dario Acosta / Sonya Yoncheva official website / © Gregor Hohenberg / Kasskara/DG / Operabase official website / Staatsoper Berlin official website) The Staatsoper unter den Linden in Berlin has announced its 2021-22 season. Here is the full slate. Operas Beethoven’s “Fidelio” will open the season. The opera stars Roman Trekel, Matthias Goerne, Pavel Černoch, Andreas Schager, Simone Schneider, {…}