Credit: Vincent Beaume When Pierre Audi, the director of Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, announced that Jonas Kaufmann and Ludovic Tézier would sing in a one-night-only concert version of “Otello,” tickets sold out in a minute. Even admittance for critics was scarce, and the festival gave seats out only when audience members turned in their tickets. Ill in London, Kaufmann canceled. This reviewer’s {…}
Tenor Andrea Bocelli has release a new recording of Verdi’s “Otello.” The opera stars Bocelli in the famed title role alongside soprano Marina Rebeka as Desdemona and Massimo Cavalletti as Iago. Conductor Steven Mercucio leads the recording and the Orchestra del Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa. This is the first opera recording Bocelli has appeared in since a 2016 recording {…}
(Photo by Olivia Kahler) American soprano Rachel Willis-Sørensen is known for her diverse repertoire ranging from Mozart to Wagner. She has performed at leading opera houses around the world to high acclaim. She won first prize at the 2014 Operalia competition in Los Angeles and at the 2011 Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition, and she was a winner of the {…}
The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino has announced a cast change for its production of Verdi’s “Otello.” The company that the role of Desdemona will be performed by Zarina Abaeva replacing the originally announced Anastasia Bartoli. Abaeva has performed at the Perm Opera and Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, among others. Her repertoire includes the music of Puccini, Tchaikovsky, Poulenc, Offenbach, Bizet, and Verdi. The {…}
The Los Angeles Opera is set to present a free live broadcast for the opening performance of Verdi’s “Otello.” The company will showcase the famed opera on May 13, 2023 at the Santa Monica Pier and CSU Dominguez Hills. The gates open at 5:30 p.m. at both location with the opera set to kick off two hours later. There will {…}
The Maggio Musicale has announced a cast change for its production of “Otello.” The company said that the title role will be performed by Arsen Soghomonyan, who will replace the originally announced Fabio Sartori. Soghomonyan is a soloist with the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theatre. Prior to his debut as a tenor was the leading baritone of the Theatre. He {…}
Maryland Lyric Opera will continue its 2022-23 season with Verdi’s “Otello” on March 3 and 5, 2023. The production of Verdi’s final tragedy will star Gregory Kunde in the title role, Eleni Calenos as Desdemona, and Mark Delavan as Iago. Other cast members include Patricia Schuman and Yi Li. Leading the production is conductor Philippe Augin with David Gately directing. {…}
The Greek National Opera will present the GNO TV premiere of Verdi’s “Otello” on Nov. 6, 2022. The opera stars Aleksandrs Antonenko in the title role alongside soprano Celia Costea and baritone Tassis Christoyannis. Other cast members include Dimitris Paksoglou, Yannis Kalyvas, Petros Magoulas, Marinos Tarnas, Pavlos Sampsakis, and Violetta Lousta. Stathis Soulis conducts a production directed by Robert Wilson. {…}
(Photo: ROF/Amati Bacciardi) Without memories we are nothing but an empty shell. They define our sense of self. It is only through memory that we can make any sense of what is around us. It allows us to rationalize and contextualize tragic events, to enjoy the present, and to project the consequence of our actions into the future. Yet, memory {…}
Photo: Clive Barda 2022 ROH This first revival of Keith Warner’s production of Verdi’s “Otello” (libretto by longstanding collaborator Arrigo Boito) comes with a frisson of contextual excitement. Warner’s expressionist production opened in 2017 starring Gregory Kunde and Jonas Kaufmann, and tried to give the piece a more existentialist reading that turned away from the problems that skin color presents {…}
This week the Teatro Comunale di Bologna is set to open a new production of Verdi’s masterpiece “Otello.” The company will present the opera with two starry casts including veteran singers and some rising stars. In the role of Desdemona, Mariangela Sicilia will sing her first Desdemona. A frequent guest of the Teatro Comunale, the soprano studied in the company’s {…}