On Sept. 23, the Ópera de Bella Artes will open a new production of Graun’s rarely performed masterpiece “Montezuma.” It will be a chance for audiences to hear an early masterwork alongside some of Mexico’s prominent and rising stars. Among them will be Karen Gardeazabal, who will be making a role debut and her house debut. The Mexican soprano, who {…}
(Credit: Met Opera) For this week’s puzzle, we’re shifting focus to interpreters of Nadir in Bizet’s “Pêcheurs de Perles.” Instructions: You are free to solve the word scramble directly on your mobile or desktop device; just click the space and type in the letters in order. Once you’ve filled in the correct word, the cursor will jump to the next {…}
(Credit: Richard Hubert Smith) On Sept. 18, Switzerland’s Theater St. Gallen will open a new production of Missy Mazzoli‘s 2016 “Breaking the Waves,” one of the most acclaimed operas of recent years. This run of performances will mark the first time the country presents the work, which will bring a cast of rising stars including Vuvu Mpofu. Mpofu will interpret {…}
(Credit: Marty Sohl / Metropolitan Opera) “Page to Opera Stage” looks at stories–real-life or fiction, old and new–that have inspired operas, and the ways these narratives have been edited and dramatized to fit a new medium. In this instalment, we look at one novel–Abbé Prevost’s ‘Manon Lescaut’–and the two (very different) audience favourite operas it inspired: Jules Massenet’s “Manon” and {…}
(Credit: Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera) On Sept. 9 Staatsoper Hamburg is set to open concert performances of Puccini’s “Manon Lescaut,” the work that the put composer on the map. The company has lined up an all-star cast that includes Sonya Yoncheva, who will make her overdue role debut. The Bulgarian soprano was originally set to make her role debut in the {…}
For this edition of the word search, we take a look at operas that had their world premieres in September. Instructions: You are free to solve the word search directly on your mobile or desktop device; just click the first and last letter of each word for it to appear on the screen. For those using a mobile device, we {…}
(Credit: historicaltenors.) OperaWire is proud to present “The Wonderful World of Opera Dogs,” a series by Diana Burgwyn, which will focus on the relationship between opera’s most iconic stars and their beloved canines. The creation of this series and all research necessary for each individual piece were conducted solely by Diana. To learn more about the origins of the project, {…}
(Credit: Eric Bouloumie) Donizetti wrote nearly 70 operas, many of which have been forgotten. Over the last several years many of his works have been rediscovered thanks in part to concert performances, festivals, or recordings. This week German audiences will get to discover the composer’s 1841 one-act opera “Rita” at the Konzerthaus Berlin. The opera will star a cast of {…}
As the 2021-22 season approaches, we want to take stock of an opera that is set to make some major premieres at the start of the season. The work in question is “Fire Shut Up in My Bones,” a work that premiered a few years back to tremendous reviews. For this latest installment of the Opera Quizzes, we take a {…}
