Franco Fagioli, Maria Grazia Schiavo, Valentina Naforniţa & Jean-François Borras Lead Opéra de Lausanne’s 2021-22 Season

Opéra de Lausanne has announced its 2021-22 season. Here is a look. Mozart‘s “Le Nozze di Figaro” opens the season. The opera stars Phillip Addis as Count Almaviva, Valentina Naforniţa as Countess Almaviva, Arianna Vendittelli as Susanna, and Robert Gleadow in the title role. The cast also includes Lucia Cirillo, Ruben Amoretti, Léa Desandre, Pablo Garcia Lopez, François Piolino, Sophie {…}

Jan 3, 2021

Graham Vick, Jane Glover & Daniel Harding Highlight New Year Honours 2021

Credits: Groves Artists official website / John Batten / Julian Hargreaves The government of the United Kingdom has officially announced the list of New Year Honours 2021. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has awarded the honors to a number of persons for outstanding achievements across the country. Among those awarded is opera director Graham Vick, who was knighted for his {…}

Mar 29, 2020

CD Review: Opera Rara’s ‘Semiramide’

An Opera Rara is a love letter to Bel Canto fans. Not only does the company research, rediscover, restore, record, and perform the forgotten operatic heritage of the 19th century, but they offer it up to collectors in a vibrant and potent packaging that includes a generous booklet with a extended article about the opera, photos and lithographs from the {…}

Sep 11, 2019

Jodie Devos, John Adams, Met Opera Among Nominees For Gramophone Awards 2019

The shortlist for the Gramophone Awards 2019 has been announced. For the purposes of this article, we will focus solely on opera or vocal related awards. In the opera category, John Adams’ “Doctor Atomic” with the compose conducting was the first of three selections. Halevy’s “La Reine de Chypre” was the second nomination; this production featured the Orchestre de chambre {…}

Sep 3, 2019

Joyce DiDonato, Christian Gerhaher, Bryn Terfel Among Major Winners of Opus Klassik 2019

(Credit: Simon Pauly) The Opus Klassik has announced its top prizes. Joyce DiDonato won Female Singer of the Year while Christian Gerhaher won Male Singer of the Year. Meanwhile, Emóke Baráth and Nadine Sierra both took home the Young Singer Award, while Jakub Jósef Orlinski was awarded Solo Recording (Opera) for his “Anima Sacra.” André Schuen won Solo Recording (Song) {…}

Mar 1, 2019

Composer Profile: Gioachino Rossini, An Italian Master

Gioachino Rossini, born on Feb. 29, 1729, is one of the great masters of Italian Opera. He was born in Pesaro and began to compose at the age of 12. He premiered his first opera “La Cambiale Di Matrimonio” in Venice in 1812 when he was just 18. Five years later, he was being engaged to write operas all over {…}

Sep 5, 2018

Warner Classics Announces New Deal With Opera Rara, First Collaboration

Warner Classics has announced that it will now be distributing all of the recordings made by Opera Rara. Per a press release, the company announced that its first such release will be a new recording of Rossini’s “Semiramide.” “Warner Classics is proud to announce complete distribution of all of Opera Rara’s new recordings, beginning with a complete studio recording of {…}

Jul 2, 2018

PBS To Showcase Met Opera’s ‘Semiramide’ Starring Angela Meade

PBS will showcase “Semiramide” from the Metropolitan Opera as part of its Great Performances Series on Sunday, July 8, 2018. The broadcast will kick off at 12 p.m. EDT and will soprano Angela Meade in the title role, tenor Javier Camarena, mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong, and bass Ildar Abdrazakov. Ryan Speedo Green rounds out the star cast. Per OperaWire’s review, DeShong {…}

Mar 5, 2018

Metropolitan Opera 2017-18 Live in HD Preview: Rossini’s ‘Semiramide’ Hits Cinemas

This Saturday, audiences around the world will get a chance to see a rare performance of Rossini’s final Italian opera “Semiramide” in cinemas as part of the company’s famed Live in HD broadcast. The showcase kicks off at 12:25 p.m. EDT and will star Angela Meade in the title role alongside Elizabeth DeShong as Arsace, Ildar Abdrazakov as Assur, and {…}

Feb 28, 2018

Five Rossini Works That Should Be Part Of The Standard Repertoire

Gioachino Rossini is one of the three Bel Canto masters whose music has been performed regularly over the years. However, unlike Bellini or Donizetti, Rossini has gotten the reputation for being a composer of comedy and sometimes his opera seria has been overlooked in favor of such masterpieces as “Il Barbiere di Siviglia,” “Le Comte Ory,” “La Cenerentola” and “Il {…}

Feb 20, 2018

Metropolitan Opera 2017-18 Review – Semiramide: Elizabeth DeShong Shines In Disappointing Revival

Of Rossini’s opera’s “Semiramide,” his final Italian work, is often considered one of his finest. You probably would not draw that conclusion from the performance at the Metropolitan Opera on Monday, Feb. 19, 2018. The opera, which tells the tale of the “battle” for the throne of Babylon in the wake of its fallen monarch Nino, is a rather long {…}