Q & A: Harold Rosenbaum & William McClelland on Putting Together The New York Virtuoso Singers’ ‘American Invention’

On Sunday, Feb. 19, the New York Virtuoso Singers will present “American Invention,” a concert featuring seven world and New York premieres by such composers as Anthony David, Tania León, Elena Ruehr, Peter Zummo, Edie Hill, William McClelland, and David Paterson. Leading the performance will be conductor Harold Rosenbaum. OperaWire spoke with Rosenbaum and McClelland about the program, how it {…}

Feb 17, 2023

Q & A: Director Vincent Huguet on the Mozart-Da Ponte Trilogy & Directing ‘Rigoletto’

Vincent Huguet is one of the most promising directors of today’s operatic world. Since his debut with “Lakme” at the Montpellier Opera in 2012, he has staged the “Mozart Da Ponte Trilogy” at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin—conducted by Daniel Barenboim and with the three shows performed over four days during the Berlin Festtage, Massenet’s “Manon” for Paris {…}

Jan 20, 2023

Q & A: Composer Tan Dun on Creating ‘Buddha Passion’

Tan Dun is arguably the most famous and influential Chinese composer, having written numerous operas such as “The First Emperor,” “Marco Polo,” “The Peony Pavilion,” and “Tea: A Mirror of Soul.” He has also written film scores (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”), organic music, and several classical and symphonic works. And now, there’s “Buddha Passion.” Inspired by the famed Chinese composer’s {…}

Jan 13, 2023

Q & A: Creators Brian Irvine & Netia Jones on their Opera ‘Least Like The Other’

In July 2019, Irish National Opera premiered “Least Like The Other” at the Galway International Arts Festival to a raft of fabulous reviews. The short opera, which lasts approximately 70 minutes, is an intensely disturbing work that explores the brutal and life-destroying system that led to Rose Kennedy having a lobotomy at the age of 23. She was born into {…}

Dec 31, 2022

Q & A: Bass Hao Jiang Tian on iSING! Suzhou International Young Artists Festival’s ‘Echoes of Ancient Tang Poems’

Back in 1983, Hao Jiang Tian arrived in New York from Beijing with $35 in his pocket and limited communication skills in English. One of his first stops from that trip was the Metropolitan Opera where he witnessed a performance of “Ernani” with Luciano Pavarotti. A decade later, Tian would take the stage with the famed Italian singer as part {…}

Dec 27, 2022

Q & A: Composer David Lang on Creating ‘note to a friend’ for Japan Society

Japan Society will premiere Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang’s newly commissioned opera, “note to a friend,” as part of the 10th Anniversary of the Prototype Festival in January 2023. This new work reimagines three texts written by Ryunosuke Akutagawa and navigates the nuanced complexities of a human being’s perspective on his own life and afterlife. OperaWire visited more with Lang about {…}

Dec 8, 2022

Q & A: Ashi Day on ‘Waking The Witch’ & Contemporary Opera

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 eight 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 {…}

Nov 15, 2022

Q & A: Composer Lori Laitman on Creating Her Fifth Opera ‘Uncovered’

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 {…}

Nov 9, 2022

Q & A: Baritone & Producer David Serero on Breaking New Ground with Morocco’s First Opera Company

November 20, 2022, will mark the inaugural gala of L’Opéra Royal du Maroc, the very first opera company in the Kingdom of Morocco. The company seeks to develop and promote Moroccan artists, as well as adapt and create operatic works in the national language of Darija. The endeavor is spearheaded by producer and artist David Serero, the company’s Founder and {…}

Nov 1, 2022

In Less than Five Minutes, Get to Know – Conductor Francesco Cilluffo

The Turin born conductor, Francesco Cilluffo, has been a regular at Wexford since making his festival debut in 2015. In 2020, he was appointed its principal conductor, and this year will conduct four performances of Fromental Halévy’s “La Tempesta.” OperaWire: What was the first opera production you attended? Francesco Cilluffo: “Don Giovanni” at the Turin opera, when I was six {…}

Oct 25, 2022

Q & A: Composer Finola Merivale on her Virtual-Reality Opera “Out of the Ordinary”

“What is opera, and what does ‘operatic’ and ‘opera’ mean to you?” It is a question that has the potential to uproot tradition. No longer bound by traditional methods and procedures (not even 3-dimensions!), artists now use ‘opera’ in imaginative ways: a profession of some emotion and inner feeling that lies deep within their core. It is my goal, through {…}

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