(Photo: Birgit Gufler) As many countries around the world lose contact with their national histories, Russia still allows its long tentacles to press forward into the present. Its distinctive institutions, including the political and the religious, as well as its artistic, musical, literary and traditional folk cultures have, deliberately or otherwise, maintained close connections with their historical roots, making them {…}
The Tiroler Landestheater Innsbruck has announced its 2022-23 season. Here is a look at the Opera productions. The season opens with Schumann’s “Genoveva” with Lukas Beikircher conducting and Johannes Reitmeier directing. Premiere Date: Sept. 24, 2022 Tommaso Turchetta conducts Puccini’s “Tosca” with Thilo Reinhardt directing. Premiere Date: Oct. 1, 2022 Hansjörg Sofka conducts Jason Robert Brown’s “Songs for a New {…}
Tiroler Landestheater in Innsbruck, Austria has announced its 2021-22 season featuring theater, opera, symphony and dance. For the purposes of this article, we will only focus on vocal and operatic performances. The season with Péter Eötvös’s “Der goldene Drache” with Hansjörg Sofka conducting a production by Björn Reinke. Performance Dates: Oct. 16-Dec. 17, 2021 Piazzolla’s “Maria de Buenos Aires” will be directed {…}
The Tiroler Landestheater has announced its 2020-21 season. For the purposes of this article we will only focus on the operas presented next season. Opera The season opens with Puccini’s “Tosca” conducted by Lukas Beikircher in a production by Thilo Reinhardt. Premiere Date: Sept. 26, 2020 Mussorgsky “Boris Godunov” will be directed by Thaddeus Strassberger and conducted by Tommaso Turchetta {…}
(Photo Credit: Rupert Larl) Strange as it may now seem, but “Mignon” by the French composer, Thomas, was one of the most popular operas of its day. Premiered at Paris’ Opera-Comique in November 1866, it received its 100th performance by July the following year, and its 1,000th by 1894. Its reception in Germany, however, was less successful, maybe unsurprisingly so, {…}
Amilcare Ponchielli was unfortunate in being born after his time had passed. Although recognized as a talented composer, he developed a reputation for composing music which always appeared to be a little dated, with the result that his operas have now largely been forgotten and rarely performed, eclipsed by the greater talent of Verdi, and that of his pupils at {…}
It may be wondered why Strauss decided to write an opera about the relative merits of the words and music in opera: “prima la musica o prima le parole?” Although it is a debate as old as opera itself, it is hardly a subject that is likely to excite potential audiences, and it is no doubt one of the reasons {…}