On March 1, 2019, Mastervoice is set to present a program entitled “Night Songs & Love Waltzes” featuring 19th-Century Romantic German Song as well as a world premiere commission. The concert will also feature a stellar cast of international singers and a piano duo. In preparation for the concert, OperaWire had a chance to speak with Artistic Director Ted Sperling about {…}
Arguably one of the most hotly anticipated productions on the west coast in the coming days is the LA Opera Off Grand production of David Lang’s ‘the loser,’ a one man show about two aspiring concert pianists who witness Glenn Gould during a masterclass that alters their hopes and dreams. The piece, which will be making its west coast premiere, {…}
The Pittsburgh Opera announced its 2019-20 season this past week revealing a diverse repertoire that includes Baroque, Classical, Contemporary, Bel Canto and French works. The season will also include some of today’s rising stars and established singers in the industry. OperaWire had a chance to speak with the company’s General Director Christopher Hahn on the upcoming season and the process {…}
On Feb. 20, 2019, the Victorian Opera company will make history staging its first performance of Wagner’s “Parsifal.” This production is set to boast an all-star cast of artists such as Burkhard Fritz, Katarina Dalayman, Peter Rose, Derek Welton, and Teddy Tahu Rhodes. OperaWire had the opportunity to speak with the Victorian Opera’s artistic director Richard Mills, and learn more {…}
The San Francisco Opera has announced its 2019-20 season featuring a wide array of repertory from Mozart and Verdi to Britten and Mason Bates. It’s a season that also includes company debuts, role debuts, and U.S. debuts. OperaWire had a chance to speak with General Director Matthew Shilvock on the new season and what excites him about many returning {…}
Tchaikovsky’s “Iolanta” and Bartók’s “Bluebeard’s Castle” will return to the Metropolitan Opera as a double after a successful run a few seasons ago. On first look, it seems like a strange combination with the composers’ styles rather different overall. It takes a truly strong maestro to move from Tchaikovsky’s lush lyrical qualities to Bartók’s challenging harmonic structures. Hungarian maestro Henrik {…}
“Alone we can do so little; together, we can do so much.” Our community has a massive impact on who we are to become and this could not be truer for those those impacted by The Governor’s School of the Arts (GSA). The school, which became a full-time program in 1987 with the aim of nurturing young artists at the {…}
“They just don’t sing as well as they used to.” You’ve heard it at some point during your opera-going. Some might dismiss such a statement as Golden Age Fallacy, nostalgic thinking that only emphasizes the positive aspects of the past and holding them up as better than the positives of the modern era. But Conrad L. Osborne thinks that is {…}
The singers, the director, and the conductor are usually the ones to get the major spotlight in the opera world. And yet, in many respects, they wouldn’t be doing anything if not for the people that bring the musical score (the single most important document when it comes to interpreting opera)to life. That task falls on the orchestra and among {…}
POP, the acronym for Los Angeles’ youthful Pacific Opera Project has a number of meanings. It can stand for Pop-up Theater (Pacific Opera Project’s productions can take place in a variety of venues and even at short notice). It can also mean “popular” (POP makes opera accessible for audiences whose principle interest might simply be an affordable night out). Over {…}
“Howards End, America” is the newest chamber opera from composer Allen Shearer and librettist Claudia Stevens and its world premiere is set for Feb. 22-24, 2019 at Z Space San Francisco. The innovative and experimental Chamber Music company Earplay, in its first fully staged opera production, co-produces it with RealOpera. “Howards End, America” is an adaptation of E. M. Forster’s {…}