Q & A: Soprano Carmen Giannattasio on Taking Care of Her Physical & Vocal Health, How COVID Changed Everything for Opera Singers

(Photo: Jean Philippe Raibaud) Italian Soprano Carmen Giannattasio has been in huge demand by all the major opera houses and companies around Europe and the USA after taking First Prize and the Audience Award at Placido Domingo’s Operalia, Paris in 2002. Her potential was first acknowledged when her piano teacher advised that she had an operatic voice and persuaded her {…}

Aug 15, 2022

Q & A: Berkshire Opera Festival’s Co-Founders Jonathon Loy, Brian Garman & Executive Director Abigail Rollins On the Festival Making Waves in New England

Fresh off a successful run of Heggie and Scheer’s “Three Decembers,” the Berkshire Opera Fest is set to open the main stage production of “Don Giovanni” at Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, Great Barrington, MA, on August 20th. 2022. The show will have additional performances on August 23 and 26. In this round table-style interview, OperaWire spoke with Co-founders Jonathon Loy and Brian {…}

Aug 15, 2022

Q & A: Mark Adamo on ‘Little Women,’ His Major Influences & Interests Outside Music

(Photo: Daniel Welch) Italian/American composer and librettist Mark Adamo has just enjoyed the UK premiere of his opera, “Little Women” at Opera Holland Park. Although written in 1998, it has taken 24 years to be performed on British soil and was warmly received throughout. At the time of its composition, Adamo noted: “I recognized that ‘Little Women’ itself solves certain {…}

Aug 14, 2022

In Less Than Five Minutes, Get To Know – Julie Fuchs

(Photo: Roxanne Matiz) What was the first opera you ever attended? It was an operetta, “No, no Nanette” by Youmans. What was the first opera you performed in? Offenbach’s “Orphée en Enfers.” I played Euridice. In what opera are you currently performing? “Le Comte Ory.” What is the next opera you are scheduled to perform? “I Capuletti e I Montecchi” {…}

Aug 13, 2022

Q & A: Soprano Julie Fuchs On Her Current Role As La Comtesse Adèle At The Rossini Opera Festival

(Photo: Olivier Metzger) One of the many stars appearing at this summer’s Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro is the French soprano Julie Fuchs, who is making her festival debut as La Comtesse Adèle in “Le Comte Ory.” Known for her dazzling singing, versatile acting and innate musicality she has wowed audiences in both concert halls and theaters across Europe in {…}

Aug 5, 2022

The Art of Change – Composer Jean-Baptiste Barrière on His Path to Opera

Whether one wishes it to be true, contemporary opera and those who create it have an undeniable responsibility to engage with the world and its many polemics and difficulties. Although not a new concept, having been liberated from its purely entertainment existence so many centuries ago, the operatic genre now fully occupies the role of participant and commentator within an {…}

Jul 17, 2022

Q & A: Yongzhao Yu & Esther Maureen Kelly on Working with the New Jersey Symphony & ‘The Song of the Yangtze River’

On July 20, the New Jersey Symphony will perform at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center. The performance will see Maestra Xian Zhang conducting the featured soloists Shanghai Isaac Stern-winning violinist Nancy Zhou (violin), Chopin-competition prize-winner Chelsea Guo (piano), Esther Maureen Kelly (soprano), and Yongzhao Yu (tenor) in a program entitled “East/West: A Symphonic Celebration.” The program will feature a wide variety of music inspired by China and {…}

Jul 17, 2022

Q & A: Soprano Kelli-Ann Masterson On Making An Opera Career In Ireland

(Photo: Patrick Browne) Opera in Ireland has recently been going through a boom time. Whereas only a few years ago, Irish singers were being forced to look abroad to establish a career, owing to the lack of opportunities at home, now, with the emergence of Opera Collective Ireland, the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival, and, most significantly, Irish National Opera, along {…}

Jul 6, 2022

Founding a New Festival – Betty Makharinsky on Co-founding The Vache Baroque Festival

Some people seem to be born with an irrepressible zest for life, who ooze positivity and energy, and view the world as a place in which they can fulfill their ambitions and dreams. Setbacks and barriers are but challenges to be overcome, mistakes are something to be learnt from, little seems to deter them. They are always on the move, {…}

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