The fight for freedom is the human condition. Throughout her new production of Rossini’s final masterwork at the Teatro all Scala, director Chiara Muti washes the stage in black, establishing a dark, gritty, and eternally miserable world in which the main characters of the drama are in a constant struggle for self-determination. But the forces led by Guillaume and Arnold {…}
The Teatro alla Scala has announced a cast change for its production of Rossini’s “Guillaume Tell.” The company said, “We inform you that the role of Mathilde in ‘Guillaume Tell’ is entrusted to Salome Jicia instead of Marina Rebeka, forced to withdraw from the production due to health reasons.” Jicia has performed worldwide including Poland, Georgia, and Berlin as well {…}
(Photo: Teatro Carlo Felice) The great French chanson singer Édith Piaf possessed one of the most naturally expressive and recognizable voices of the 20th century. It was a raw, untrained voice, shot through with emotional honesty, born from her own tough and painful experiences of an early life spent in poverty and exposure to the seedy underbelly of society. In {…}
Welcome back for this week’s look at the latest CD and DVD releases in the opera world. For this edition, audiences will get to hear new recordings from three famed stars as well as a new opera designed for the 3D space. Folk Songs Magdalena Kožená releases her fourth Pentatone album “Folk Songs” which brings together folk-inspired song cycles from {…}
The Teatro Massimo di Palermo has announced its 2023-24 season. Opera The season opens with Bellini’s “I Capuleti e Montecchi.” Omer Meir Wellber conducts the production by Idan Cohen. The cast includes Maria Kataeva and Anna Pennisi as Romeo and Marina Monzó and Francesca Pia Vitale as Giulietta. Ioan Hotea, Mert Süngü, Marco Spotti, and Gabriele Sagona round out the {…}
Credit: Teatro Real Teatro Real closes the 2022-23 season with 17 performances of Puccini’s “Turandot.” It is a revival of their own Robert Wilson production, which premiered at Teatro Real in 2018, featuring three different casts. The opera will be screened live in several squares all over Spain, will be shown on RTVE (The main Spanish Tv channel), and will {…}
The Teatro Verdi Trieste has announced its 2023-24 season. Here is a look at the operas the theater will showcase. The season opens with Puccini’s “Manon Lescaut” in a production by Guy Monavon. Gianna Fratta conducts a cast that includes Lana Kos and Alessandra di Giorgio, Roberto Aronica, and Murat Karahan. Fernando Cisneros and Matteo Peirone also star. Performance Dates: Nov. {…}
Switzerland’s Opéra de Lausanne has announced its 2023-24 season featuring opera and concerts. Opera Luis Cansino and Salome Jicia headline Rossini’s “Il Turco in Italia.” The cast also includes Giulio Mastrototaro, Francisco Brito, Mikhail Timoshenko, Marion Jacquemet, and Pablo Julián Plaza Guijarro. Emilio Sagi directs and Michele Spotti conducts. Performance Dates: Oct. 6-15, 2023 Samy Camps, Marie Perbost, Julien Dran, {…}
This week audiences will get a chance to hear songs by Enrico Caruso, a rare Mascagni opera, Verdi choruses, and Spanish songs, among others things. Here is a look at the new releases of the week. 1915: A Trip to Granada The new album features American mezzo Anna Tonna and American pianist Mac McClure taking a journey undertaken back in April of {…}
La Monnaie is set to present “Bastarda,” the story of Elizabeth 1, and the intriguing and extraordinary story of the queen and of the child she once was. The piece is a reworking of the opera canon featuring musical moments from Gaetano Donizetti’s Tudor tetralogy (“Anna Bolena,” “Elisabetta al Castello di Kenilworth,” “Maria Stuarda” and “Roberto Devereux”). Francesco Lanzillotta and {…}
This week audiences will get to experience the debut albums of major stars and ensembles as well as the world premiere video recording of a Bellini opera. Here is a look at the releases from this week that you simply cannot miss. Walking in the Dark Julia Bullock makes her solo recording debut on Nonesuch Records. The includes two large {…}