The Tête à Tête festival in Marylebone’s Cockpit Theatre is the heart of experimental and fringe opera performance in London. Orchestras and companies have lately been rushing, since lockdown loosened, to be “first” to come back – first performance of a symphony to a live audience (Aurora Orchestra at the beginning of September); first performance of an opera in London {…}
(Photo: Michel Crosera) Vincenza in Lirica closed its 2020 festival with a second performance of Vivaldi’s opera “L’Olimpiade.” Written to a libretto by Metastasio in 1734, it received its premiere at Venice’s Teatro Sant’Angelo. Yet, the work struggled to establish itself and had to wait over 200 years before it eventually received a revival, this time at Siena’s Teatro dei {…}
(Credit: Chris Singer) Only seven days before the COVID-19 pandemic fell on our heads, American mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato was in New York portraying the role of Agrippina at the Metropolitan Opera House. Taking on the role of the cunning queen, DiDonato already had been in the eye of the storm. At that moment very few people really understood well what {…}
(Photo: Michele Crosera) As the final bars of Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas” played to a close, the chorus moved from the floor of the theater to surround the body of Dido, who lies dead on a raised platform, having slit her own throat. Just behind her a dancer, dressed in a wedding dress contorted and distorted herself into positions of {…}
(Photo: Borin) Now in its eighth year, Vicenza in Lirica under the guidance of Andrea Castello continues to move from strength to strength and is starting to have a clearly defined format, centered on the baroque, with Palladio’s marvelous Teatro Olimpico as its primary venue. It is supportive of young singers who are cast in the operas but is also {…}
(Photo: Birgit Gufler) In 1589, the Medici, Grand Duke Ferdinando married Christine of Lorraine in Florence in a lavish celebration, which was described as the most magnificent entertainment ever seen in the city. It was an event of rich splendor, aimed at projecting the power of the Medici and of Florence itself. At its center was the comedy, “La Pellegrina,” {…}
(Photo: Birgit Gufler) Each year Innsbruck’s Festival of Early Music presents Oper:Jung, a work performed by younger singers, which gives them the chance to essay substantial roles in front of the festival audience. This year the choice of opera was Alessandro Melani’s “L’Empio Punito,” to a libretto by Acciaiuoli and Appoloni. Premiered in Rome in 1669, it has the distinction {…}
(Credit: Ray Burmiston) “One voice in a million.” This is the kind of phrase on which legacies, mythologies, histories are built. And it’s the phrase that continues to crop up whenever Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen enters the operatic conversation. The soprano has definitely played her part in bringing about this idea that her voice is of a unique power. She {…}
(Credit: Monika Ritterhaus) Who would have thought that an opera could be staged in just a few weeks? Probably the fastest production in the world was the minimalist, but extremely lively production of Mozart’s opera “Così Fan Tutte” staged at this summer’s Salzburg Festival. The tension of times – pandemic, anniversary, unexpected project, opportunity to return to work, new roles, {…}