On May 7, the Teatro Comunale di Bologna will open a new production of “Lucrezia Borgia,” one of Donizetti’s most popular works and one that has become a vehicle for a star soprano to show her vocal fireworks. However, it is also one of the composer’s most dramatic works and one that contains some of Donizetti’s most mature music. In {…}
On April 29, the Houston Grand Opera will open a production of Gounod’s “Roméo et Juliette,” one of the most renowned French operas of all time and one that contains some of the greatest extended duets. And for this occasion The opera house has assembled a bright cast that includes the rising star, Adriana González. González is making her role {…}
(Credit: Sabrina Ceballos) Verdi’s “Alzira” is likely the composer’s least-known opera. Its rarely staged or performed and it received mixed reviews when it first premiered in 1845. This week the Bilbao Opera is reviving the work in a co-production with the Gran Teatro Nacional del Perú and Opéra Royal Wallonie-Liège with well-known Verdi singers including soprano Carmen Solis. The Spanish {…}
On April 10, the Opernhaus Zürich will revive its acclaimed production of Verdi’s “Rigoletto.” The production will feature veteran performers and some of the most acclaimed interpreters of the opera. However, there will be a newcomer to the opera, Sandra Hamaoui. The French-American soprano will make her role debut as Gilda following her successful turn as Constance in a new {…}
On April 2, the Metropolitan Opera will revive a production of “Le Nozze di Figaro” with a new cast featuring some of the world’s greatest Mozartians and some rising stars. Among the rising stars set to grace the Met stage is Ying Fang who will sing her first Susanna on the Met stage. Having made her Met debut in 2013, {…}
Perhaps no other work within the conventional canon of comic opera, of which Rossini, Donizetti, Mozart, Webern, and Lehar find their respective places, has achieved so much lasting success as Jacques Offenbach’s two (then four) act opéra bouffon “Orphée aux enfers.” It was composed between 1855 and 1858 as a humorous reaction to the stuffy court opera aesthetic and hyper-focus {…}
This weekend Kevin Puts and Grieg Pierce’s “The Hours” will make its world premiere. The work is one of the most anticipated operas of the year as it is based on the popular Michael Cunningham novel, which was later turned into an Oscar-winning film. Now three divas will get the chance to shine in three iconic roles with the Philadelphia {…}
Annalisa Stroppa is in the prime of her career performing on the great stages in the opera world and singing a diverse repertoire that spans Verdi, Donizetti, Bizet, Offenbach, Puccini, and Bellini. This week she returns to one of her signature roles in Bellini’s “Norma.” The mezzo, who has become a specialist in the Bel Canto repertoire, has championed the {…}
“Opera Meets Film” is a feature dedicated to exploring the way that opera has been employed in cinema. We will select a section or a film in its entirety, highlighting the impact that utilizing the operatic form or sections from an opera can alter our perception of a film that we are viewing. This week’s installment features a look at {…}
