In Collaboration with Francisco Salazar Inside the plainly named Broadway Theater, one of Broadway’s largest houses with 1,765 seats, a wall of wood scaffolding and wood poles obscures the stage in place of the would-be curtain. The screens of wooden slats bleed seamlessly into stairways patched with corrugated metal, extending beyond the proscenium. This apparent slum, which is lit with {…}
Benjamin Britten’s “Peter Grimes” had its world premiere on June 7, 1945, and was immediately an operatic success. Hailed as a masterwork, Britten’s most famous opera has been a major staple in almost every opera house around the world. And while there have been numerous tenors that have staked their claim on the role, there are perhaps no artists better {…}
Roberto Alagna and Mario Filippeschi were both born on June 7, the former in 1963 and the latter in 1907. Starting half a century apart, the two tenors took a similar direction. Filippeschi was famous for his massive sound and gleaming upper register, tackling light lyric repertoire such as “La Bohème,” “Madama Butterfly,” “I Puritani,” “Lucia di Lammermoor,” and even “Guglielmo {…}
Alexander Pushkin is one of the greatest authors in the history of the world. He is also one of the writers who has had the greatest impact in the world of opera. Perhaps only such authors as Victor Hugo or William Shakespeare have seen as many of their works adapted to the opera stage as has Pushkin. And while those other {…}
The title role in “Madama Butterfly” is one that many sopranos, both past and present, have made their own. Lianna Haroutounian is among the artists on that list and this week she reminds audiences why as she brings her acclaimed portrayal of Cio-Cio-San to the Hamburg State Opera in her house debut. The Armenian soprano recently performed the work in San {…}
Fedora Barbieri and Cecilia Bartoli, mezzo-sopranos born on June 4, could not be more diametrically opposed from a vocal standpoint. Unlike the past few articles showcasing two birthday-sharing singers together to see how their careers feature numerous similar roles, this article, which features two Italian mezzos, has none. At all. Bartoli and Barbieri never sang the same roles. They only have {…}
Jan Peerce and Neil Shicoff are two of the great tenors in the history of opera, and they were born just one day—and 45 years—apart. Peerce’s birthday is on June 3, 1904, while Shicoff’s is June 2, 1949. If you’ve read our previous work, you know what to expect here: an examination of the operas and composers that united these {…}
Peter Mattei and Robert Merrill do not share much in common. Their birthdays are one day apart in different eras, the former born on June 3, 1965, and the latter on June 4, 1917, and despite being baritones, they are a completely different class of that noble voice. Merrill will always be remembered for the darker timbre and weight that allowed {…}
We know the Enigma Variations. We know the Cello and Violin Concertos. We know his symphonic works. But we never got to hear a full opera from Edward Elgar, born on June 2, 1857—though this wasn’t due to lack of effort. The legendary English composer did actually get close to his one and only opera, but death took him too {…}
