When Dorothy arrived in Oz, she made the memorable comment “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas any more.” Mega diva Joyce DiDonato’s first glimpse of the superb 6th century church of Aya Irini in the gardens of the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul may well have elicited the same response. The operatic career of the former Joyce Flaherty from Prairie {…}
Britten’s War Requiem was written between 1961-1962, ostensibly in response to WW I, in the aftermath of WW II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and all the many others. On June 25, 2018, at the Philharmonie, the Staatskapelle Berlin, conducted by Sir Anthony Pappano and accompanied by stellar opera singers and choruses, sang out against all war, then and {…}
As the Metropolitan Opera company’s Summer Recital Series rolls on, the artists and crew took to Williamsbridge Oval Park in the Bronx for an afternoon of arias, duets, and a trio from some of opera’s most cherished composers. Kicking things off was tenor Gerard Schneider, singing “Questa o quella” from Verdi’s “Rigoletto.” This amorous aria made for a spirited opening, {…}
It has been a particularly heavy season at Opera Theatre of St. Louis, with an absolutely splendid run of Marc Blitzstein’s “Regina” and the emotionally-charged world premiere of Huang Ruo’s “An American Soldier.” It was thus welcome that the final production to debut this season, Gluck’s “Orfeo and Euridice,” provided an uplifting ending. This production by director Ron Daniels, though {…}
Sir Simon Rattle is retiring from the Berlin Philharmonic. Saturday night at the Waldbuehne, Berlin, was one of the farewell concerts. This one included his wife as guest artist – the superb mezzo-soprano, Magdalena Kozena. Despite the rain that drizzled on the 20,000+ people armed with blankets and ponchos, and its proximity to the concrete tower left over from the {…}
For 68 summers, Northwest Arkansas has been an opera haven for young singers. High atop the Rock Candy Mountain at Inspiration Point in Eureka Springs, amid lush forests and vistas of a golden horizon, Opera in the Ozarks serves as an artist colony for performers from across the United States. The experience culminates in a month-long opera festival — by {…}
“Il Trovatore” never fails. From one note to the next, we have glory, love, pain, revenge, daring. Verdi didn’t miss. Say what you want about the twisting melodrama of a gypsy, a curse, stolen babies, a woman caught between two lovers. When you come down to it, you have opera to shout over. Last night at the Opéra National de {…}
No one ever pretended that opera was a cheap art form. As an extreme example, the Salzburg Festival has a budget of over 60 million euros for just six weeks, making its balance sheet the envy of several small Pacific island states. But even in countries with an immense musical patrimony such as Italy, there is a tendency for populist {…}
We go to Mahler for wisdom and depth and to Elina Garanca for beauty and rich interpretation. Both were present Sunday morning at the Wiener Konzerthaus. The Wiener Philharmoniker, conducted by the dynamic Venezuelan conductor, Raphael Payare, book-ended Mahler’s “Funf Lied (Five Ruckert Songs),” plus one song from “Der Knaben Wunderhorn,” with Beethoven’s Leonore Overture and Bartok’s Concerto For Orchestra. {…}
