Rai Radio 3 is set to broadcast performances from the XXI Festival Verdi for three days. Audiences will get a chance to hear performances from the festival on Jan. 31, Feb 12, and March 26. On Jan. 31, Rai Radio 3 will present a symphonic concert directed by Roberto Abbado featuring excerpts from “Oberto, Conte di San Bonifacio,” “Il finto {…}
(Credit: Teatro Regio di Torino) The Deutsche Oper Berlin has announced multiple cast changes for the performance of Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera” on Dec. 29, 2021. Per an official press release, tenor Dmytro Popov will replace Yusif Eyvazov in the role of King Gustavo III. Popov is a well-known tenor who has performed at the Metropolitan Opera House, Opéra {…}
The Verbier Festival has announced its 2022 season, featuring operas and several concerts. For the purpose of this article, we will focus on vocal works. Operas Mozart’s opera “Don Giovanni” kicks off the festival with Olga Peretyatko as Donna Anna, Magdalena Kožená as Donna Elvira, Bogdan Volkov as Don Ottavio, Mikhail Petrenko as Leporello, Alexandros Stavrakakis as Il Commendatore, Julien {…}
(Credit: © Lidia Khomich) The Deutsche Oper Berlin has announced that soprano Angela Meade will not be appearing in the role of Amelia in Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera” in December 2021. As a result, soprano Irina Churilova will take over the role. Per the same press release, Heidi Stober will replace Meechot Marrero in the role of Oscar. Churilova {…}
(Credit: © Simon Pauly) The Deutsche Oper Berlin has announced that Spanish bass-baritone Carlos Álvarez will not be appearing in the role of Count René Anckarström in the December 2021 performances of Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera.” American baritone Thomas Lehman will take over the performances scheduled for Dec. 20, 22, and 29, 2021. Lehman joins a cast that includes {…}
(Credit: Klaus Frahm) The Deutsche Oper Berlin has announced its upcoming December 2021 performances. Mezzo-soprano Doris Soffel will give a concert singing lieder by Gustav Mahler and Kurt Weill. Performance date: Dec. 2, 2021 Soprano Anja Harteros gives a concert featuring Wagner’s “Wesendonck-Lieder” and “Liebestod” from “Tristan und Isolde.” The orchestra will also present Richard Strauss’ “Tod und Verklärung” op. {…}
Rai5 is set to broadcast the Teatro Regio di Parma’s new production of Verdi’s “Un Ballo Maschera” on Oct. 14, 2021. The performance, which is part of the annual Festival Verdi, stars Piero Pretti as Gustavo, Anna Pirozzi as Amelia, Amartuvshin Enkhbatyn as Anckastrom, Anna Maria Chiuri as Ulrica, and Giulia Giandaldoni as Oscar. Roberto Abbado conducts the Orchestra and {…}
There has been a cast change for the Festival Verdi’s production of “Un Ballo in Maschera.” The Parma festival announced that soprano Anna Pirozzi would be taking over the role of Amelia for Maria Teresa Leva on Sept. 24, 2021; per a press release, Leva is withdrawing from the performance due to health concerns. Leva is still scheduled to take {…}
(Credits: Michael Cooper / Dario Acosta / Sonya Yoncheva official website / © Gregor Hohenberg / Gregor Hohenberg / Sony Music Entertainment) The Teatro alla Scala in Milan has announced its 2021-22 season, featuring some of the greatest performers in the world. Here is the full slate. Operas Anna Netrebko and Luca Salsi open the season in Verdi‘s “Macbeth” in {…}
(Photo credit: Frances Marshall) What’s opera about? Passion? Drama? Politics? Sex? All the above, of course, and it’s been that way since 1597, even in the face of censorship. Yet, the prohibitions around taboo topics such as politics and sex caused composers and librettists to get creative when including such material in their operas. Opera critic, author, and historian par {…}
“Opera Meets Film” is a feature dedicated to exploring the way that opera has been employed in cinema. We will select a film section or a film in its entirety and highlight the impact that utilizing the operatic form or sections from an opera can alter our perception of a film that we are viewing. This week’s installment features Murnau’s {…}