(Photo: Patrick Redmond) Soprano Kelli-Ann Masterson continues to notch up wonderful reviews for her performances across Ireland with Irish National Opera, Opera Collective Ireland, Blackwater Valley Festival and Wexford Festival Opera. At present, she is on tour with Irish National Opera wowing audiences with her Norina in the company’s riotous “Don Pasquale” OperaWire: What was the first opera you saw? {…}
Composer, librettist, and singer Ashi Day is a composer with a strong penchant for revitalizing opera’s antiquarian stories and gender hierarchy. As one of the seven women to receive funding as part of Opera America’s Opera Grants for Women Composers (OGWC), her present chamber opera project, “Waking the Witch” is scheduled to receive its first workshop performance December 9-10th at {…}
Romanian mezzo-soprano Carmen Topciu is in the midst of a run of “Carmen” with Opera Australia, following her acclaimed performances with the company in 2020. The production is being performed on Cockatoo Island. The evening begins with a ferry ride across the water to the world-heritage-listed sanctuary of Cockatoo Island. Audiences will be surrounded by layers of history and then {…}
On December 4, 2022, Carnegie Hall will host a celebration of Ukrainian culture titled “Notes From Ukraine: 100 Years of ‘Carol of the Bells.’” The concert marks the centennial anniversary of the American premiere of Mykola Leontovych’s “Shchedryk.” The English adaptation known as “Carol of the Bells” has gone on to become an iconic Christmas song. It premiered at Carnegie {…}
(Credit: Victor Santiago) On Nov. 21, Francesco Meli will perform at the Uniti per Verdi concert, which he organized with Riccardo Frizza with the help of the Società del Quartetto. As one of the great Verdi tenors of his generation, Meli has been an advocate to save the Villa Sant’agata and hopes that with this upcoming concert, the government and {…}
(Credit: Simone Falcetta) On Nov. 21, Riccardo Frizza will conduct the “Uniti per Verdi” concert which he organized alongside fellow colleague Francesco Meli. The concert, which received support from the Società del Quartetto, is taking place in order to create awareness and save Villa Sant Agata, Verdi’s home, which will be auctioned off by Verdi’s family disputes. The concert will {…}
(Credit: Michele Monasta) On Nov. 18, the Donizetti Opera Festival will open its 2022 festival with “La Favorite.” The opera is rarely performed but has been a showcase for many mezzo-sopranos in the history of opera. For this new production, Annalisa Stroppa will return to Bergamo and make her role debut as Léonor. The mezzo, who first sang with the {…}
(Photo: Janacek Brno Festival) Over the course of her career, Czech soprano Eva Urbanova has done it all. She has performed at the world’s top opera houses, sang with the greatest singers, and worked with the greatest conductors and stage directors. However, as of yet, there is no sign of her slowing down. She has just completed a performance of {…}
On Nov. 16, City Lyric Opera will present the New York premiere of composer Lori Laitman and librettist Leah Lax’s “Uncovered.” The opera, which premiered in March 2022 in Utah, is based on Lax’s memoir exploring her journey out of Hasidic Judaism to freedom as a gay woman. The opera represents the fifth work in the artform for Laitman following {…}