(Credit: Linda Rabisch) When COVID-19 struck in March 2020, one of the final “live” performances to take the stage was a production of Dvořák’s “Rusalka” in Krefeld, Germany with dramatic soprano Dorothea Herbert in the title role. For her, the experience was surreal. “We performed on that night in a totally empty theater. There was no audience, just the darkness {…}
(Credit: Shawn Harris, San Francisco, CA) Composer Pamela Z and theatre artist Geoff Sobelle’s “Times3 (Times x Times x Times)” is PROTOTYPE’s fourth iteration of “Out of Bounds,” a platform for new vocal performance pieces taking place in unlikely locations throughout New York. This multidimensional sonic experience is a site-specific journey through Times Square that calls to mind the importance {…}
The MET Orchestra, one of the greatest in the world, is in jeopardy. Read that again. The MET Orchestra, one of the greatest in the world, is in jeopardy. That’s not just an opinion. As reported in multiple news outlets, including this one, none other than the iconic conductor, Maestro Riccardo Muti, unequivocally stated just that. In his letter dated {…}
As the Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Austin Opera, Timothy Myers has had one of the most difficult years of his life. Last year, 2020, left a mark on the operatic industry that forced many leaders to make difficult decisions and rethink the way the entire business of opera worked. As a result, Myers is taking the time {…}
Becca Conviser, founder and director of the innovative young artist program Opernfest Prague (OFP), is a remarkable young industry influencer. In four short years Conviser has built up a program like no other. At the end of an intense week of instruction and coaching, OFP Fellows perform house auditions, backed by a full orchestra, in front of theater chiefs from {…}
Aerialist noun : one who performs feats in the air or above the ground, especially on the trapeze. Does singing “Der Hölle Rache,” the famous Queen of the Night aria, upside down while suspended by yards of silk count as a “feat?” If not, it should because that’s exactly what soprano Rainelle Krause does. Whether in the air or on the {…}
(Credit: Colbert Artists Management) “My what?” James Morris, studying at the Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA) in Philadelphia, has received a phone call from his newly acquired agent at Sol Hurok management, an agent who had seen him perform elsewhere in the country and offered to represent him. Now, the agent has news: a date for Morris’ Met audition. The {…}
“At Home With… ” is a new series collaboration between OperaWire and photographer Frances Marshall of Marshall Light Studio, combining original photography with insightful interviews. In this second edition, OperaWire spoke with Stage Director, Julia Burbach. “Truth be told, I only realized that things were accelerating when I was in Iceland, rehearsing ‘Valkyrie.’ We were going to do a week {…}
On Dec. 4, Paola Prestini and Magos Herrera released “Con Alma,” an album recorded remotely between March and October 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The new release features classic songs from the Mexican and Jazz songbook and over 30 musicians across three continents including the all-women German-based Ensemble Sjaella, Constellation Chor, the Young People’s Chorus of NYC, Mexico’s Orquesta Sinfónica {…}