Pretty Yende, Elena Stikhina, Carlos Álvarez, Liparit Avetisyan, Lisette Oropesa Headline Royal Opera House’s 2021-22 Cinema Season

(Credit: Sim Canetty-Clarke) Editor’s note: A previous version of this article stated that the cast for “Rigoletto” featured Javier Camarena, Rosa Feola, Luca Salsi (and this was reflected in the title of the article). However, the Royal Opera House has clarified that the production will be filmed with the September cast and broadcast in March. The article and its title {…}

Aug 13, 2021

Anna Netrebko, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Diana Damrau & Sonya Yoncheva Lead Metropolitan Opera’s Free Summer HD Festival

The Met’s Summer HD Festival is set to return on August 28 featuring 10 free encore presentations from the company’s Live in HD series. The festival will also feature a special pre-festival screening of Susan Froemke’s acclaimed documentary “The Opera House.” The screenings will be free and open to the public, with approximately 2,500 seats set up next to the {…}

Jul 12, 2021

Angela Gheorghiu, Roberto Alagna, Pretty Yende, Sasha Cooke, Piotr Beczała Headline Top 10 Operas to Stream This Week

Those yearning for a lot of big name opera gems will certainly be satisfied with this week’s offerings which include a bit of a deviation from our usual format – we included three productions from the same company. But there are still several other unique offerings from around the world. We hope you have a fulfilling week of operatic experiences. {…}

Jul 7, 2021

Pretty Yende & Piotr Beczala Lead Bastille Day Concert de Paris

On July 14 the Orchestre national de France, the Chœur, and the Maîtrise de Radio France will celebrate Bastille Day with the annual Concert de Paris at the Eiffel Tower. This year, the concert will feature Edwin Crossley-Mercer, Clémentine Margaine, Pretty Yende, and tenor Piotr Beczała alongside violinist Renaud Capuçon and musician Ibrahim Maalouf. Simone Young conducts the celebration. The {…}

Jul 4, 2021

Patricia Petibon, Pretty Yende, Sir Simon Keenlyside & Adèle Charvet Lead Théâtres de Compiègne’s 2021-22 Season

(Credits: Bernard Martinez / © Gregor Hohenberg / Uwe Arens / Adèle Charvet official website) Théâtres de Compiègne have announced the 2021-22 season. Here is the full rundown. Chœur de La Tempête performs “Les Vêpres” by Rachmaninoff alongside conductor Simon-Pierre Bestion. Performance date: Sep. 11, 2021 Mezzo-soprano Adèle Charvet performs works by Debussy, Aubert, Ravel, Delage and Duparc alongside pianist {…}

Jun 29, 2021

Marina Rebeka, Joyce DiDonato, Carlos Álvarez, Pretty Yende, Lisette Oropesa Headline the Palau de les Arts 2021-22 Season

The Palau de les Arts in Valencia, Spain, has announced its 2021-22 season. For the purposes of this article, we will highlight the vocal and operatic performances. The season opens with Verdi’s “Requiem.” James Gaffigan conducts a production by Romeo Castellucci starring Elena Tsallgova, Sara Mingardo, Sebastian Kohlhepp, Nahuel Di Piero, and the Escolania Mare de Déu dels Desemparats. Performance {…}

Jun 25, 2021

Criticism on Fridays: Crossing the Border

(Photo: Jonathan Cooper) Every Friday, Polina Lyapustina delivers a short essay on some of the most essential topics in the industry with the intent of establishing a dialogue about the opera world and its future. On Monday, South African soprano Pretty Yende was detained at the French Customs. Once released, she immediately reported the mistreatment. Meanwhile, French Police commented that Yende did {…}

Jun 23, 2021

Pretty Yende Speaks Out Against French Police

(Credit: Elena Cherkashyna) In response to French police refuting Pretty Yende’s detainment and stating that she had a South African passport, the soprano has released her documents and a statement on social media. Yende said, “In the view of many press reports which shared a statement from the police that I, and I quote, “did not have any documents but {…}

Jun 22, 2021

Q & A: Pretty Yende Talks About Her Detainment at Charles De Gaulle Airport

(Credit: Elena Cherkashyna) On June 21, Pretty Yende was detained at the French airport on her way to the Théâtre des Champs Elysées for the fourth performance of a new critically acclaimed production of “La Sonnambula.” She was returning from Milan where she been processing documents and when she arrived back in France, police officers took her to a cell {…}

Jun 22, 2021

French Police Refutes Pretty Yende’s Detainment Claims

(Credit: Kim Fox Photography) Per sources of French publication Forum Opera, soprano Pretty Yende attempted to enter the territory of the Republic of France without a residence permit. “Ms. Yende was not mistreated at the airport, but tried to enter France without a residence permit,” said the publication’s source from the French police. “The checks made by the police in {…}

Jun 22, 2021

Pretty Yende Detained, Stripped & Searched at French Airport

Pretty Yende was detained at the French Customs on June 21 as she returned to France for the fourth performance of “La Sonnambula” at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées. The soprano took to social media to share her story on social media stating, “Now I have some idea of how it feels to be in prison literally. Customs detained me and {…}