Look at most books about opera legend Maria Callas and you’ll recognize some iconic representation of the famed diva. But glance at the cover for “Cast a Diva: The Hidden Life of Maria Callas” by Lyndsy Spence and you’ll find something else. Instead of seeing the soprano look back at the reader, what we get is a black and white {…}
Paola Prestini’s first grand opera, “Edward Tulane,” makes its world premiere on October 8th as the first work by a woman to be commissioned by Minnesota Opera as part of the company’s New Works Initiative. Based on the novel, “The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane,” by Minnesota author and two-time Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo, Paola Prestini collaborates with librettist Mark Campbell to honor {…}
Once considered lost since its premiere in 1924 Warsaw but miraculously rediscovered in 2017 by German Musicologist Dr. Diana Matut while digging through the archives of Yale University Library, the Yiddish-language opera “Bas Sheve” (the first known opera in the Yiddish language) finally received its North American premiere at the 2022 Ashkenaz Festival. Dubbed one of the “largest and most {…}
Photo: Jamie Jung American composer Lembit Beecher has collaborated with librettist/lyricist Mark Campbell to write “A Year to the Day,” a new song cycle rooted in, but not about, the pandemic. The concept was Campbell’s, and it was he who approached the composer. Together, they wrote six songs, along with five instrumental interludes for tenor Nicholas Phan, violinist Augustin Hadelich, {…}
Rosetta Cucchi is a successful international stage director and the artistic director of Wexford Opera Festival. OperaWire: What was the first opera you attended? Rosetta Cucchi: “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” by Rossini OW: What was the first opera you directed? RC: “La Scala di Seta” by Rossini OW: What is the next opera you are scheduled to direct? RC: “Adriana {…}
Andrea Castello is the Artistic Director of the Vincenza in Lirica Festival. But he is a very different type of Artistic Director. For him a festival is about discovering young artists, discovering new works, and trying to challenge the norms. He is not interested in bringing the biggest names for the sake of the box office but in bringing them {…}
“What is opera, and what does ‘operatic’ and ‘opera’ mean to you?” It is a question that has the potential to uproot tradition. No longer bound by antiquated edicts, artists can now use ‘opera’ to make a statement: a profession of some emotion and inner feeling that lies deep within their core. It is my goal, through interviews with all {…}
“O brave new world that has such creativity in’t!’ “Prospero’s Island,” the forthcoming chamber opera by composer Allen Shearer and librettist Claudia Stevens, tells the tale. Ninth Planet, in co-production with InTandem, will present the world premiere at San Francisco’s Herbst Theater on March 25, 2023. It is to be performed by a cadre of young and exceptionally talented musical {…}
When he was 12-years-old, Peter Mark received a recording of “Aida” starring Renata Tebaldi. He was hooked. One year later, he got what he called “the chance of a lifetime.” He got to sing at the Old Met and was able to witness a number of singers from the golden age that would be major influences for the rest of {…}
“What is opera, and what does ‘operatic’ mean to you?” I lead with this inquiry in every interview. No longer bound by antiquated regulations, artists can now use the “opera” to make a statement. It is my goal, through interviews with all manner of people involved in the multifaceted world of “opera,” to examine projects and works through the lens {…}
Can an artistically-inclined YouTube channel be considered an ‘opera?’ More fundamentally, is operatic theater limited to what happens on the stage, or can it reside within the digital spaces of the internet? In the days where technology has liberated art, and where virtual art as well as artificially-generated art have become hot topics of discussion, it is quickly becoming apparent {…}