Ash Lawn Opera will become Charlottesville Opera in 2017. Charlottesville, Virginia’s premier opera company for the past 40 years decided to change its name after significant growth. The company, which began in 1978 as a summer festival for local singers presenting opera in the boxwood garden of Ash Lawn-Highland has became an integral part of the Charlottesville downtown scene. After years of performing {…}
Carlisle Floyd’s “Prince of Players” is coming to New York at the little Opera theater of ny (LOTNY) this February at Hunter College. The work follows Edward Kynaston, a famous Shakespearean actor who is know for taking on female roles in the Bard’s plays during the 17th Century. However, when King Charles II allows women to perform and forbids men {…}
This review is for the final performance of the run on Dec. 18, 2017 and was written in collaboration with Francisco Salazar. How do you get younger audiences to engage with that “old” and “outdated” art form known as opera? That is the eternal question for the major opera houses around the world as they look to find a viable {…}
Cowboys, sunsets and the grandeur of the American western will grace Arizona Opera this February, when the company world premieres “Riders of the Purple Sage.” Based on the classic novel by Zane Grey, the opera tells the story of the unconventional relationship between a devout Mormon and a vengeful cowboy. The work explores themes such as women’s rights, vigilante justice {…}
On Dec. 17 Amore Opera will open its new production of Strauss’ “Die Fledermaus.” The company will feature two back-to-back performances and from Dec. 27 through the 31 the company will perform five back-to-back performances, including a gala on New Year’s Eve. The cast will include Michael Ciuffitelli as Eisenstein and Haley Vick as Adele. Douglass Martin will conduct the {…}
LoftOpera’s “Macbeth” has garnered tremendous reviews for its fantastic casting, nuanced production and brilliant music-making. “The crisp orchestral playing of the orchestra under the baton of Sean Kelly was highlighted by an atmospheric account of the first act prelude, with portentous horn fanfares seeming to “hang” forever in the vast space’s cavernous acoustic,” wrote the New York Observer. Despite being {…}
“You could research my family as far back as the 1600’s and you wouldn’t find anyone anywhere involved in music,” declared mezzo soprano Antonella Delli Carpini during a recent chat with Opera Wire in anticipation of her upcoming performance as the mother in Menotti’s “Amahl and the Night Visitors” at Opera Breve. But now she is the first. And it {…}
The New York City Opera has just added four performances to its upcoming run of Leonard Bernstein’s “Candide,” citing popular demand. The opera was originally scheduled for performances from January 6 through 12, but four additional presentations have from Jan. 13-15. The opera will be directed by legendary director Harold Prince, best known for his work on Broadway where he {…}
On Dec. 8, Opera Breve will open its 2016-17 season with “Amahl and the Night Visitors.” The rarely-staged Menotti opera is a special work as it was the first opera made in the U.S for TV. OperaWire had the opportunity to interview Gary Ramsey, who is playing the role of King Melchior. The baritone was a late bloomer, coming into {…}
Opera Breve will open its 2016-17 season with Menotti’s “Amahl and the Night Visitors” on December 8. The opera will star Gary Ramsey, a baritone who is best known for his interpretation of Don Alfonso in Mozart’s “Cosi Fan Tutte” at the Loft Opera and Bonnie Frauenthal, a soprano who was recently praised in La Scena Musicale for her role {…}