(Photo credit: ©EnricoNawrath) In preparation for the new “Parsifal” at Bayreuth last year, one may have harbored preconceived doubts as to the very idea regarding the use of Augmented Reality eyeglasses. After attending this year’s performances, the doubts lingered; and although this production may not be considered a negative adventure per se, one may not view this experiment as a {…}
(Photo credit: © Wibmer) The Pietro Antonio Cesti Competition is a major annual highlight in the world of baroque opera that takes place at the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music, featuring young baroque singers from all over the world. This year’s competition was full of exciting and inspiring moments that OperaWire had the honor of experiencing live. The audience {…}
(Photo credit: Nile Scott Studios) What can one expect from an opera that the one and only Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed when he was a mere fourteen years young? It is impressive considering the age of its composer and disappointing if we bear in mind what came next—like listening to Wagner’s “Die Feen,” Verdi’s “I Due Foscari” or even Puccini’s {…}
Met audiences will cheerfully remember last season’s run of “Un Ballo in Maschera” when Charles Castronovo’s signature chiaroscuro repeatedly proved the very backbone of his vocal physiognomy. “Noble Renegades,” for Delos Productions, purportedly builds on established strengths; but by dwelling mostly on (quasi-)stock characters from Verdi’s early to mid-career, the New York tenor outfits the recording’s 19 tracks with {…}
(Photo credit: Lennart Sjöberg) Göteborg Opera is celebrating its 30th season with an exciting lineup of favorites, beginning with Sir David McVicar’s production of Bizet’s “Carmen,” with libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on a novella by Proper Mérimée. This production was originally presented at Glyndebourne in 2002, and like most McVicar productions, it gets to the point {…}
(Photo credit: Brescia & Amisano | Teatro alla Scala) Premiering in 1851, the French comedy “Un chapeau de paille d’Italie” left an indelible mark on theater history with its witty plot, inspiring five film adaptations over the last century: three French, one German, and one Soviet. In Italy, the story was revived by Nino Rota, who transformed it into the {…}
For all of its existence, Teatro Grattacielo’s sole focus has been on reviving lost gems of the Italian opera repertory such as Zandonai’s “Giulietta e Romeo,” Mascagni’s “L’Amico Fritz,” and Giordano’s “Fedora,” mixed in with more recognized classics of the canon. But on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, the company charted a new course – new American opera. It’s not a {…}
(Credit: Marty Sohl) Throughout the entire history of opera, from its beginning in the Francophile 18th century to the American 21st, there have been numerous moments which stand out as having been controversial of their time and controversial even today due to the contentious nature of the events. If one looks to contemporary issues like Anna Netrebko’s alleged blackface while {…}
(Photo: Birgit Gufler) One of the more interesting events at Innsbruck’s Early Music Festival is its Oper Jung production, cast with singers who took part in the previous year’s Cesti Competition and who, therefore, are generally in the early stages of their careers. This summer’s presentation was Händel’s 1734 opera “Arianna in Creta,” which relates Theseus’s quest to kill the {…}