(Picture Credit @Wonge Bergmann) What happens when opera is pushed to the far reaches of the socially acceptable, artistically expected, narratively conventional, and formally structured? You end up with controversial productions, reconstructed variations of well-known stories, and strange configurations of unknown ones. One may remember what happened not so long ago with Stutgart’s “Sancta Susanna” or, longer ago, Adams’ “The {…}
This week, the Staatsoper Hamburg is set to revive its production of “Falstaff” with a starry cast of acclaimed singers including Simon Keenlyside, Danielle De Niese, and Christopher Purves. It also includes rising stars like Olivia Warburton, who is making her role debut as Nannetta. The soprano, who made her Staatsoper Hamburg debut in 2023, has joined the company in {…}
(Credit: Michele Crosera) This week, the Teatro La Fenice opens a new production of Donizetti’s masterpiece “Anna Bolena” featuring a cast of Bel Canto specialists. Leading the cast is Russian soprano Lidia Fridman. Over the years, the rising star soprano has made a name for herself in the Bel Canto repertoire since her breakout at the Donizetti opera Festival singing {…}
The Norwegian Opera is set to present “The Cunning Little Vixen,” a work that is rarely performed by a major company. This season the company will showcase a cast of rising stars including Victoria Randem. Randem is part of the Young Artist Program at Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin, and has performed with the Bayerische Staatsoper, Glyndebourne festival, Semper Oper {…}
Released in 2008, Canadian director Kevin Sullivan’s reimagining of “The Magic Flute” in his film, “Magic Flute Diaries,” was a profound statement on the way operatic narratives could be fused into the real world through a cross-relationship of experience, emotion, and feeling. Starring Canadian soprano Mireille Asselin as Masha/Pamina and baritone Olivier Laquerre as Papageno, the film continued the trend {…}
(Credit: Karen Almond / Met Opera) This week, the Metropolitan Opera is set to present Jake Heggie’s “Moby Dick” for the first time in the company’s history. It is being headlined by Brandon Jovanovich, who is taking on the role of Captain Ahab. Jovanovich is no stranger to the work as he covered the role of Ahab during its world {…}
(Credit: Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera) It’s that time of the year. I am of course referring to the period when opera fans around the world start checking their calendars as they prepare for what they will be checking out in the upcoming season. Always an event unto itself is the Metropolitan Opera’s new season announcement, always full of interesting storylines, surprises, {…}
This week, the Teatro San Carlo will open a new production of “Roméo et Juliette” with a starry cast including Nadine Sierra and Javier Camarena. The production was first performed at the Bilbao Opera and received rave reviews. Now it is heading to Napoli and its director, Giorgia Guerra will make her Teatro San Carlo debut. In preparation for her {…}
(Credit: © WILLIAM STRUHS/Spoleto Festival USA) Barber’s “Vanessa” is a work rarely heard. That is why when the occasion to hear the work comes, audiences run to see it. It doesn’t hurt if it has a great cast. This week the National Symphony Orchestra is bringing the work to audiences with a stellar cast that includes Nicole Heaston in the {…}
