Photo Credit: Hugo Thomassen/Nationale Opera & Ballet Striking a balance between innovation and tradition, the genre of opera films often toes the fine line between two ways of viewing both art-forms. When opera is treated as the subject it comes to life, playing the leading role, whereas when opera is perceived as the object its role becomes supportive, and life {…}
This week, the Teatro alla Scala is set to world premiere “Anna A.,” a new work by Silvia Colasanti. The work is conceived primarily for a young audience and tells the story of the poet Anna Akhmatova in 20th-century Russia. Narrated through a language that blends music and spoken word, the opera delivers a universal message about the conflict between {…}
For the past few months, you may have noticed the series, ‘The Person Behind The Opera.’ In May, we began the series by looking at the person, Malcolm Little (or Malcolm X), the focus of Anthony Davis’ 1985 opera, ‘X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X.’ The next month, we looked at Harvey Milk, the San Francisco gay rights {…}
(Credit: Javier del Real) This week, the Teatro Real de Madrid is set to open the 2025-26 season with a revival production of “Otello.” The production will star two of the world’s most important dramatic voices, including Brian Jagde, who will sing the title role for the first time. Otello is known as one of the most challenging roles in {…}
Much ink has been spilled, in varying shades of nostalgia, on the unravelling of the contracts, institutions, and principles that have fostered peace and prosperity since the end of the Second World War. Undoubtedly, much of this concern is justified: in Europe, national borders are once again flexible around the whims of the powerful; Multilateral Organisations have demonstrated their hollowness {…}
(Credit: Magali Dougados) On Sept. 5 and 6, Operfest Lisboa will present the national premiere of the chamber opera “Julie” by Philippe de Boesmans. The opera is based on the August Strindberg play “Miss Julie” and is celebrating its 20th anniversary. This week Lisboa will present it featuring a cast of rising stars including Julia Deit-Ferrand, a rising star in {…}
(Credit: Jonathan Tichler / Met Opera) At the start of the War in Ukraine, General Manager Peter Gelb made a proclamation, “We can no longer engage with artists or institutions that support Putin or are supported by him—not until the invasion and killing has been stopped, order has been restored, and restitutions have been made.” The statement was clear as {…}
It is rather easy to find operas dealing with religious persecution, ideological conflict, and personal struggles. From well beloved 20th century examples like Messiaen’s “Saint François d’Assise” (1975-79), Britten’s “The Prodigal Son” (1968), and, my personal favorite, Poulenc’s “Dialogues des carmélites” (1956), to revolutionary works like Strauss’ “Salome” (1905), Hindemith’s “Sancta Susanna” (1921), and Schoenberg’s “Moses und Aron” (1932), the {…}
What happens when creatives move in different directions than their main artistic medium? For many, moving between the mediums is a natural process, a way to materialize one’s creative impulses through various means. Auguste Rodin, the celebrated naturalist sculptor of the late 19th-20th century, was a fine painter as his numerous works show, although is best known for works like {…}
