(Callas enshrouded in reporters. Credit: Maurice Zalewski/ADOC photos) Vignettes of onstage outtakes are aplenty. Daily shots of the soprano, less so. Here’s a peek into Maria’s typical excursions—culinary and sartorial; social and cultural—on a work(not really)less day. Coruscating like the crystalline intrusion of a cocktail dress’ brooch asparkle in a parking lot; a spotlight pooling blindness onto “Poliuto”‘s Paolina; {…}
On Nov. 16, Ailyn Pérez will make history at the Metropolitan Opera when she headlines the first-ever Latin American Opera in the company’s history (and only the third Spanish-language opera). The soprano will sing the title role of “Florencia en el Amazonas,” making her role debut and marking her first Spanish-language opera ever. The Mexican-American soprano will also headline her {…}
An exciting new project by New Camerata Opera, the animated short-film opera entitled “One Train,” bears the markers of a great path towards making opera more inviting. A joint effort by librettist Hannah McDermott and Hilary Purrington, the story weaves a path of awareness, magic and selflessness. It is bound to surprise even the most well-seasoned opera goer. This {…}
This week the Lithuanian National Opera is set to bring a new production of “Aida” this week with one of the most sought-after sopranos of her generation. Kristine Opolais will make her debut with the company in the title role of Aida, a work she last performed completely 15 years ago in Riga. The last time she performed a part {…}
This week the Dallas Opera is set to world premiere “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.” The opera was originally scheduled for 2020 but was postponed due to COVID-19. For the production, Grammy Award–winning baritone Lucas Meachem will star as journalist Jean-Dominique Bauby who awakes from a coma unable to move or speak. Based on a memoir from 1997, the {…}
(Photo Credit: Scott Suchman) Throughout this new series, we will be looking at the history of American opera beginning in the 2000s to the present through a revisit of certain iconic works of the decade and OperaWire’s coverage of them throughout the 21st century. In this first part, we will look at the development of American opera during the 2000s, {…}
(Credit: Marty Sohl) This week, Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer’s latest work “Intelligence” will make its world premiere at the Houston Grand Opera (HGO). Moreover, this production represents an extension of the long-standing relationship between Heggie and HGO, as the company has also showcased the first performances of “End of the Affair (2004),” “Three Decembers (2008),” “Pieces of 9/11 (2011),” {…}
It’s easier to appreciate Robert Ashley’s 1983 “Perfect Lives” by simply accepting it on faith as an “opera” rather than try to cram it into the narrow definition established for the genre. There’s quite a bit of text, some singing, a story with characters, and perhaps too much of a visual spectacle. Purists with preconceived notions about how exactly these {…}
Having explored the tricky terrain of opera’s more conventional genres, as well as its regional varieties, what is left are the rather obscure versions of opera that have grown from different types of traditions and histories. What would happen if modern politics and opera were combined? What do you get when you feature a small break between each scene of {…}
