In 2023, Carlo Rizzi and the British label of Opera Rara resurrected Mercadante’s unjustly neglected “Il Proscritto” – the story of the exile Giorgio Argyll’s return to Scotland and the ensuing, tragic love triangle at the heart of Salvadore Cammarano’s rather unlikely libretto. In 2024, conductor Rizzi turns his attention to another exile: the former tribune Settimio who is the {…}
Welcome back for this week’s look at the latest CD and DVD releases in the opera world. This week audiences will get to hear a new recording of Wagner’s final work with a famed cast and a full recording of Donzietti’s rarely performed work. L’esule di Roma Opera Rara releases its 27th complete Donizetti revival with the Britten Sinfonia conducted by {…}
The Theater Dortmund has announced its 2023-24 season featuring new productions and concerts. Premieres Sergey Romanovsky, Sungho Kim, Jonathan Tetelman, Anna Sohn, and Zhala Ismailova lead a new production of Puccini’s “La Bohème.” The cast also includes Rinnat Moriah, Sooyeon Lee, Mandla Mndebele, Daegyun Jeong, Morgan Moody, Daegyun Jeong, and Denis Velev. Gabriel Feltz conducts the production by Gil Mehmert. {…}
The Staatsoper Hamburg has announced its 2023-24 season. Opera Kent Nagano conducts Frank Castorf’s production of Mussorgsky’s “Boris Godunov.” The opera will star Alexander Tsymbalyuk, Kady Evanyshyn, Olivia Boen, Renate Spingler, Matthias Klink, Alexey Bogdanchikov, Vitalij Kowaljow, Oleksiy Palchykov, and Ryan Speedo Green. Performance Dates: Sept. 16-Oct. 7, 2023 Catherine Foster and Ewa Płonka sing the title role of Puccini’s {…}
La Monnaie de Munt in Brussels has announced its 2022-23 season featuring eight productions and a number of concerts. Here is a look at the operatic and vocal performances. Opera Nathalie Stutzmann conducts David Marton’s production of Tchaikovsky’s “The Queen of Spades” with Dmitry Golovnin, Laurent Naouri, Jacques Imbrailo, Anne Sofie Von Otter, Anna Nechaeva, and Charlotte Hellekant. Performance Date: {…}
The Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, Italy has announced its 43rd season which will take place between August 9 and 21, 2022 and will feature two new productions. The Festival will be inaugurated at the Vitrifrigo Arena with “Le Comte Ory” conducted by Diego Matheuz with the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai and the Chorus of the Teatro Ventidio Basso. {…}
The Opera Royal de Liege Wallonie staged a brand-new production of Rossini’s “Otello.” The once-popular opera used to be performed worldwide in Rossini’s time but disappeared from the repertoire completely when Verdi’s “Otello” premiered in 1887. But that wasn’t all. Rossini’s version also fell out of the rotation for the same reasons many bel canto works disappeared: the realism and {…}
(Credit: Daniil Rabovsky) Tenor Sergey Romanovsky has canceled his participation in the title role of Rossini’s “Otello Ossia Il Moro di Venezia” for performances on Dec. 21 & 23 due to illness. As a result, tenor Anton Rositskiy will sing the role, while Grégoire Lugué-Thébaud will act it on the stage. Rositskiy joins a cast that includes Salome Jicia as {…}
(Credit: Theater Dortmund) The Oper Dortmund has announced its 2021-22 season. Here is a look at the opera and the vocal performances of the season. Premieres Gabriela Scherer and Stéphanie Müther share the title role in Puccini‘s “Tosca.” James Lee performs Mario Cavaradossi, and Michael Volle and Mandla Mndebele alternate as Scarpia. Gabriel Feltz conducts a production by Nikolaus Habjan. {…}
Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège in Belgium has announced its 2021-22 season. For the purpose of this article, we will focus on the vocal works only. Here is the full slate. Opera Verdi‘s “La Forza del Destino” will star Marcelo Álvarez as Don Alvaro, María José Siri as Donna Leonora, and Simone Piazzola as Don Carlo di Vargas. The cast also {…}
When La Monnaie was forced to postpone its planned “Bastarda” project, which would have featured the Tudor trilogy and Donizetti’s rarely performed “Il castello di Kenilworth,” the company had to opt for an alternative. The company decided to perform two rare works by Donizetti and Rossini; “La Favorita” and “Elisabetta, regina d’Inghilterra.” However, it would only be highlights of the {…}