(Photo: Mariapia Ballarino) Recently OperaWire attended a performance of “Farinelli: The Voice That Remains,” a one-man show by soprano Nicolò Balducci. It was quite a splendid piece of music theater, which wove a path between opera, spoken theater, and recital. Behind the scenes was Marialuisa Bafunno, who was responsible for the concept, stage direction, and spoken text. Such was the {…}
(Photo credit: Wright & Mazzucco) As the third year of BACHtoberfest approaches, Artistic Director of The Worcester Chorus and THE COMPLETE BACH Chris Shepard, pianist Simone Dinnerstein, and BACHtoberfest Choir member, Dana Lauducci spoke with OperaWire about this audacious project. THE COMPLETE BACH, Music Worcester’s 11-year project to present all of the known works of J. S. Bach live features the annual {…}
(Photo: AJ Coots) When I was asked to interview Wexford Festival Opera’s new CEO, Suzanne Nance, my thoughts immediately turned to balance sheets, profit forecasts, marketing campaigns, contracts, fundraising and staffing issues. I must admit that it did little to set the pulse racing. However, it turned out be a very different experience than expected. While such issues were touched {…}
Jarvus Ricardo Hester is thinking about opera beyond the traditional theater. As the founder of Harlem Collective Opera, he is exploring how classical music can become more intimate, accessible, and connected to the communities it serves. At the heart of that work is the Black Composer Project, an exploration of Black art song that has grown into something larger than {…}
(Photo: Ed Choo) Born out of a belief that opera could be experienced differently — with an emotional immediacy like no other artform — OperaUpClose has evolved from its first award-winning production of “La Bohème” in a 35-seater pub in 2009, to becoming a trailblazer for London’s fringe opera scene, to a nationally touring company championing a new model for {…}
(Photo: Fabio Ceresa) One of the highlights of this summer’s Innsbruck Early Music Festival will undoubtedly be a fully staged production of Antonio Cesti’s opera from 1668, “Il pomo d’oro,” to a libretto by Francesco Sbarra. Written for the Austrian Empress, Margaret Theresa’s 17th birthday in a specially constructed outdoor theater in Vienna, it has been described as the empire’s {…}
Olivier Award winner, Peter Whelan, is known as one of the most dynamic and versatile exponents of historical performance of his generation. He is currently the Artistic Director of Irish Baroque Orchestra and Curator for Early Music of Norwegian Wind Ensemble. In addition to taking up the role of Artistic Partner with National Symphony Orchestra Ireland in January 2026 and {…}
Composer Carlos Simon has built a career at the intersection of the Black church and the concert hall, channeling a Pentecostal upbringing into music written for orchestras, opera companies and choruses. That path has taken the Atlanta native from Composer in Residence at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to the inaugural Composer Chair of the Boston {…}
(Photo credit: Ozge Balkan) During the week-long program Opera by the Fjord in Bergen, Norway, co-creator and conductor Sascha Goetzel spoke with OperaWire about this unique young artist program. Not only does Opera by the Fjord take young opera singers, it brings together budding orchestra musicians, conductors, and répétiteurs. This year, the program featured performances of Mozart’s “Le nozze di {…}
In a modern world burgeoning with new operas each year, some artists are ensuring their cultures be spotlighted in an industry constantly being innovated. Quinteto Latino and Opera Cultura, are two artistic pioneers with similar missions: spotlighting Latino artists while uplifting communities through diverse storytelling. Quinteto Latino, a wind quintet engaging audiences through education and performing commissioned pieces by Latino {…}
For 15 years, Peter Kozma has built up Opera Neo into one of the most distinctive training grounds for young opera artists in the United States. At the core of his philosophy is a conviction he has held since childhood: opera is, first and foremost, theater. Born and raised in Budapest, Hungary, at the age of six, Kozma witnessed his {…}