Jon Vickers, born on Oct. 29, 1926, built up a career as one of the finest dramatic tenors of his time. He conquered a wide range of repertoire across a wide range of houses, became associated with quite a few roles, and then went on to make acclaimed recordings with other major superstars. Vickers’ career got kickstarted in 1957 when {…}
“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 Oliver Stone’s “Wall {…}
You know “Carmen.” And you’ve probably gotten to know “Les Pêcheurs de perles” quite well also. But what of George Bizet’s other operas? How many are there? What subjects do they narrate and explore? Here is a run down of those other operas from the famed composer, born on Oct. 25, 1838, under the name Alexandre César Léopold Bizet. Le {…}
Cheryl Studer, one of the most unique sopranos in recent history. Born on Oct. 24, 1955, she put together an enviable career that ranged from singing a tremendous amount of opera roles as dramatic and lyric soprano and then mezzo, to winning a plethora of major awards, to eventually becoming a teacher. She recorded countless albums and her legacy is {…}
Over the past few years, Frédéric Antoun has made a mark on many of the leading theaters in the world, singing a variety of repertoire with vocal purity and nuance. This week, Metropolitan Opera audiences will finally get a chance to hear this French-Canadian singer as he makes his debut in the role of Raul in Thomas Adès’ “The Exterminating {…}
Franz Liszt and the world of opera are not necessarily the most identifiable match. While the composer, born on Oct. 22, 1811, created his fair share of vocal pieces (he wrote, among other things, a lot of songs and choral works), his encounters with opera are extremely rare. In fact, until very recently there was only one work that was {…}
“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 Roberto Benigni’s “La {…}
Olga Borodina is one of the most respected mezzo-sopranos of her generations. She has conquered every international theater and has sung most of the major mezzo repertoire. And this week, she takes on yet another feat in her storied career as she returns to the United States for her debut at the Dallas Opera. Borodina will open the Dallas Opera in the role {…}
Jamie Barton is one of the fast-rising stars of the opera world. Born on Oct. 17, 1981, you might already call her an operatic superstar, her performances drawing the most enthusiastic raves from critics the world over. Her showcase at the Met in 2016-17 in Dvorak’s “Rusalka” was continually lauded as “scene-stealing” and she just seems unstoppable. In looking at {…}
