The Belle Mehus Auditorium in Bismarck, North Dakota is set to present the “Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezín” on Oct. 20 and 21, 2023. The concert-drama, which commemorates Jewish prisoners of Theresienstadt Concentration Camp during World War II, will feature a performance of Verdi’s Requiem” interspersed with historic film and testimony from survivors. It showcases the Bismark-Mandan Symphony Orchestra under {…}
(Photo: Amati Bacciardi) Soprano Anastasia Bartoli is a rising star on the Italian and European opera scene. Over the course of this year alone, she has received a string of glowing reviews including her performance as Cristina in “Eduardo e Cristina” at the Rossini Opera Festival. In October she will be performing Lucrezia in Verdi’s “I Due Foscari” at Venice’s {…}
The Ravenna Festival is set to present “a trilogy according to Riccardo Muti.” From Dec. 16 to 22, Muti will lead his Cherubini Orchestra in the semi-staged performances of “Norma” and “Nabucco” and in an all-Verdi gala at the 19th-century Alighieri Theatre. On Dec. 16 and 19, Muti will conduct Bellini’s “Norma” with Klodjan Kaçani, Vittorio De Campo, Monica Conesa, {…}
The forces behind the Dutch label Pentatone are deserving of every accolade for producing beautifully engineered recordings. This is especially important considering that heavy hitters like Warner and Sony only hesitatingly, and with big marketing efforts, venture into the operatic realm, knowing that its share of profitability has long become a calculated and somewhat unwanted risk. Critics will surely remember {…}
(Photo © Rikimaru Hotta) When he was 10-years-old, Kazushi Ōno went to the opera for the first time. What opera did he witness? “La Traviata.” He was hooked. This led him to study at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music before he headed off to Germany to study as a scholar of the Japanese Ministry of Culture {…}
Credit: Vincent Beaume When Pierre Audi, the director of Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, announced that Jonas Kaufmann and Ludovic Tézier would sing in a one-night-only concert version of “Otello,” tickets sold out in a minute. Even admittance for critics was scarce, and the festival gave seats out only when audience members turned in their tickets. Ill in London, Kaufmann canceled. This reviewer’s {…}
Tenor Andrea Bocelli has release a new recording of Verdi’s “Otello.” The opera stars Bocelli in the famed title role alongside soprano Marina Rebeka as Desdemona and Massimo Cavalletti as Iago. Conductor Steven Mercucio leads the recording and the Orchestra del Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa. This is the first opera recording Bocelli has appeared in since a 2016 recording {…}
The information for this article was provided by Martin’s family. Famed Verdi scholar and historian George W. Martin passed away on June 8, 2023. He was 97. Martin famously wrote 12 books on opera, Giuseppe Verdi, and other historical subjects. Martin was born in New York in 1926 to George Whitney Martin Sr., a lawyer, and Agnes Wharton Hutchinson Martin. {…}
If you’re not fully conversant with the tale that is the centerpiece of one of Giuseppe Verdi’s most celebrated and performed works, “Il Trovatore,” then I highly recommend a little further reading and research before attempting to digest this opera. It may well help to alleviate some of the confusion in following the plot. There’s little one can do, however, {…}
The Greek National Opera is now streaming a new production of Verdi’s “Falstaff” on its platform GNO TV The recording took place during the production’s initial run from Jan. 26, 2023-Feb. 12, 2023. The production, which was directed by Stephen Langridge and conducted by Pier Giorgio Morandi, starred Dimitri Platanias in the title role alongside Tassis Christoyannis as Ford, Vassilis {…}
The Greek National Opera will revive Italian director Leo Muscato‘s production of Verdi’s “Nabucco” from July 26 – 30, 2023 at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus. The opera will star an international cast of singers, including Dimitri Platanias and Tassis Christoyannis in the title role, and Ekaterina Semenchuk and Maria José Siri alternating as Abigalie. Other cast members include Yannis {…}