Weekend Preview (2/10-12) – USA: Verdi, Bellini & Bizet Dominate in NYC, Houston & Chicago

By David Salazar

This weekend, US audiences will get a chance to see a few major stars appear on two of the world’s biggest stages.

To kick things off is the opening of “I Puritani” at the Metropolitan Opera featuring Javier Camarena and Diana Damrau. The performance kicks off at 7:30 p.m. EST. Keep an eye out for a review from OperaWire at some point Saturday.

Speaking of Saturday, a matinee performance of “Carmen” starring Clémentine Margaine will take place with Roberto Aronica as Don Jose in lieu of Marcelo Alvarez. OperaWire called Margaine’s Carmen “ a willful being, full of aggression that she can release at any given moment.”

Saturday evening marks the end of this season’s run of “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” with Pretty Yende leading the way. For OperaWire, Yende was “the standout without any doubt.”

Not to be outdone, the Houston Grand Opera will make its mark on the weekend with two performances of Verdi’s Requiem featuring Angela Meade, Sasha Cooke, Alexey Dolgov and Peixin Chen. Patrick Summers conducts. The company’s first performance will take place on Feb. 10, with the second on the 12th.

The Florida Grand Opera will end its run of “Eugene Onegin” on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. EST while the Lyric Opera of Chicago will premiere this season’s run of “Carmen” with Ekaterina Gubanova in the lead role and Joseph Calleja as Don Jose on that same night.

Feb. 11 will also be the date for a preview of the upcoming “Riders of the Purple Sage” at the Arizona Opera.

The Los Angeles Opera will give a 2 p.m. PT performance of “The Abduction of the Seraglio” on Sunday Feb. 12.

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