This week the San Francisco Opera will revive its acclaimed production of Händel’s “Partenope.” The production will star some of the most acclaimed singers in the Baroque repertoire and will showcase three debuts. Among the debuts is Italian countertenor Carlo Vistoli who has performed around the world. In anticipation of his debut, Vistoli spoke to OperaWire regarding the production. OperaWire: {…}
What does an unfinished opera have in common with a historical landmark, Chinese cultural history, thousands of singers, eloquent music, and expert dramaturgy? In 1998, just like Wagner’s trilogy, these disparate elements come together to form a work of epic proportion in Zhang Yimou and Zubin Mehta’s collaborative project, “Turandot at the Forbidden City.” In this article, we will explore {…}
Music is multidimensional and can resonate with people of different cultures, backgrounds, beliefs, and so on, in very different ways. Because of how subjective music is, it is difficult to provide a systematic explanation of what music arouses in us emotionally, because people respond to the same and also different songs differently. However, while it’s difficult to concisely explain what {…}
This week, the Teatro Real de Madrid is set to present the staged world premiere of the 2017 opera by Tomás Marco, “Tenorio.” The opera was first performed in concert at the Teatro Auditorio San Lorenzo de El Escorial and is based on José Zorrila’s “Don Juan Tenorio” and other works. For this first stage production, the Teatro Real is {…}
Soprano Lise Davidsen is no stranger to Strauss as she has performed the Marschallin “Der Rosenkavalier,” Chrysothemis in “Elektra” and and the title role of “Ariadne auf Naxos.” She has also performed the Four Last Songs. For all these roles she had garnered universal acclaim with OperaWire stating, “She can be comic, tragic, and romantic. She can be physical and {…}
This week, Opera Southwest will make history with its production of Bizet’s “Carmen.” The opera, which is one of the most popular in the repertoire, will be performed in a Spanish version translated by Eduardo de Bray that premiered in Barcelona in 1890. The new production in New Mexico will mark the U.S. premiere of the version with Eliza Bonet {…}
Albert Edward Sutherland’s film “Champagne Waltz” (1937) is many things. A film where jazz coolness and Viennese waltz culture combine in a forceful yet graceful dance of push and pull, punctuated by a story about a romance born from rivalry as two cultures butt heads before ultimately capitulating to the other. Starring soprano Gladys Swarthout, whose singing in the film was {…}
While operas that focus on disabilities in the positive, challenging conventional associations of disability and replacing them with affirmative messaging which reflects the tenaciousness of the individual over their situation, one of the last to be adapted into the operatic genre is deafness. Contemporary operas like Errollyn Wallen’s “The Paradis Files” based upon the life of Austrian composer Maria Theresia {…}
This week the Edmonton Opera opened a new production of Golijov’s “Ayre,” a cycle of songs that offers a tour of the Mediterranean, particularly in that mixture of Spanish, Jewish, and Arabic influences. The work featured Miriam Khalil, a rising soprano who has established herself as one of Canada’s most versatile. In a short interview, Khalil spoke about the work: OperaWire: Tell {…}
