Pretty Yende, Juan Diego Flórez, Anita Rachvelishvili, & Piotr Beczala Lead Wiener Staatsoper Streaming Slate

(Credit: Opera de Paris/Wiener Staatsoper) The Wiener Staatsoper has announced a new week of streaming featuring recent live performances and classic productions. Here is a look. The week begins with a recent stream of “Carmen” with Andrés Orozco-Estrada conducting Calixto Bieito’s production. The opera stars Anita Rachvelishvili, Piotr Beczała, Erwin Schrott, and Vera-Lotte Boecker. Streaming Date: March 1, 2021 Verdi’s “Otello” {…}

Apr 4, 2020

Jonas Kaufmann & Renée Fleming Highlight Salzburg Easter Festival’s Streaming Platform

The Salzburg Easter Festival is launching a streaming platform in collaboration with Unitel. From April 4 through 16, the dates of the festival, there will be free videos of the opera productions from the era of Christian Thielemann/Staatskapelle Dresden from 2013 to 2017. The program kicks off with a 2017 recording of “Die Walküre,” in a production by Vera Nemirova {…}

Oct 22, 2019

CD Review: 150 Years Wiener Staatsoper The Anniversary Edition

Over the summer, the Wiener Staatsoper celebrated its 150th anniversary. The company presented an all-star gala which was showcased throughout the theater and also released two special edition collections. One was a DVD set of previously released content and the other was a CD set with mostly world premiere recordings. The CD set of nine operas and a compilation album {…}

Apr 16, 2019

CD / DVD Releases – Week of 4/15

This week will center on one major release in honor of one of the great tenors of the 20th century. Johan Botha: Italian Opera Arias Orfeo and Naxos pay tribute to Johan Botha in a CD set featuring arias and duets from Verdi’s “Don Carlo,” “I Vespri Siciliani,” “Aida” and “Otello” as well as Puccini’s “Turandot” and “Tosca,” Giordano’s “Andrea {…}

Aug 19, 2018

Artist Profile: Tenor Johan Botha, South Africa’s Most Recorded Opera Singer

Johan Botha, born on August 19, 1965, did not get the chance to live a long life. But he left a major impact on those who heard the South African tenor sing. Born in Rustenburg, the tenor trained with Jarmilla Tellenger between ages 10-17. After serving in the South African Air Force, he continued to study voice. Then things went {…}

Apr 3, 2018

CD / DVD Releases – Week of April 2: Marina Rebeka & Johan Botha Lead New Releases

This week, three interesting releases will be seen in the market. The first is from a rarely performed Verdi opera, then comes a one-act opera by Puccini, and finally, there will be a CD exploring French baroque opera. Here is a look! Luisa Miller Marina Rebeka continues her Artist in Residence with the Muncher Rundfunkorchester in the title role of {…}

Aug 19, 2017

Remembering Johan Botha’s Greatest Roles

One of the great tragedies of 2016 was losing tenor Johan Botha in the midst of his vocal prime. At just 51 years of age, he still had, at the very least, a few solid years of singing to impart on us. Those who heard Botha will rarely forget his beautiful tenor, a delicate instrument by nature capable of ripping {…}

Dec 27, 2016

In Memoriam 2016: Remembering the Major Opera Singers That Passed This Year

For many, 2016 was a tough year for many reasons. There were many lost political battles, violence exploded around the world and many beloved artists and celebrities saw their lives come to an end. The opera world was particularly devastated in 2016 with the loss of many major stars, some of them rather young. The following is a list of {…}

johan botha