Q & A: Merola Opera Program Leadership on How Cultivating Awareness Makes Britten’s “The Rape of Lucretia” an Urgent Story Visible Today

Photo Credit: Kristen Loken Merola Opera Program presents Benjamin Britten’s “The Rape of Lucretia” on July 13th and 15th at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco, with director Jan Essinger, conductor Judith Yan, and a creative team including intimacy coordinator Maya Herbsman. Merola will also host a special conversational forum, post-performance on Saturday, July 15th with the creative team and {…}

Q & A: Andrea Marcon On Baroque Opera & The Rebuilding Of Venice’s Teatro San Cassiano

With the proposal to reconstruct the world’s first public opera house, Venice’s Teatro San Cassiano, developing apace, OperaWire took the opportunity to meet up with its artistic director, Andrea Marcon, to discuss his aims, justifications, expectations, and hopes for the project. Marcon is one of the world’s leading exponents of baroque repertoire and has conducted performances across the globe, from {…}

Q & A: Patricia Racette on Her Journey as a Director & ‘Susannah’ at OTSL

“Racette, almost continually on stage, commands our attention with seeming effortlessness.” “Racette was the shining center of it all…” “Racette’s impressive depiction of Susannah drew on the very qualities that have made so many of her performances here invaluable over the years…” These are just a few of the many reviews praising internationally renowned soprano Patricia Racette’s turn in the {…}

Q & A: Sarah Baxter On Her Forthcoming Production of ‘Macbeth’ At Blackwater Valley Opera Festival

The end of this month sees the start of Ireland’s Blackwater Valley Opera Festival, which this year will be performing Verdi’s “Macbeth.” The staging will take place in the grounds of Lismore Castle, the perfect backdrop for evoking the atmosphere of murder, treachery and ghostly interventions, set within the walls of Inverness and Dusinane castles. The director bringing this to {…}