Q & A: Composer Jeanine Tesori, Lincoln Center’s Visionary Artist 2025, on Her New Opera ‘Blue’ & Her Experiences as a Composer Writing Across Genres

(Photo: Nina Wurtzel-Horiz) Jeanine Tesori is one of today’s pioneering composers. Her work transcends boundaries and spans genres, including film and opera. Her new opera, “Blue,” which received the MCANA Award for Best New Opera, and “Grounded,” the first female commissioned opera by The Metropolitan Opera, are making history. Her work focuses on political and societal complexities, woven into the {…}

Oct 18, 2025

Q & A: Cathedral Choral Society of Washington’s Steven Fox on Creating the Ensemble’s ‘Sound’

Since he took over the job eight years ago, Steven Fox, Music Director of Cathedral Choral Society (CCS) has done his utmost to transform the organization’s direction. To that end, Fox’s initiatives have included expanding the repertory, creating programs to improve the skill set of its members, and offering up new opportunities to deepen connections with the audience. “I am {…}

Sep 30, 2025

Q & A: Conductor Victor DeRenzi on 44 Years at Sarasota Opera

For 44 years, Victor DeRenzi has maintained his position at the helm of Sarasota Opera as its Artistic Director. During that time he has led over 900 opera performances. Among his major accomplishments with the company is a Verdi cycle that he initiated in 1989 and completed in 2016 with the aim to perform all of Verdi’s music. He also {…}

Sep 25, 2025

Q & A: Maximilien Seren-Piccinni on the Garda Festival & the Future of the Festival

(©Alessandro Lodola) Belgian-Italian director Maximilien Seren-Piccinni has deep roots in the history of music as he is a descendant of the famous Italian composer and master of opera buffa Niccolò Piccinni. From a young age, he has been involved in the arts, having been the personal assistant to Mario Monicelli and later studying opera directing at the Polo Nazionale Artistico {…}

Sep 24, 2025

Q & A: Alexander Shelley & Joel Ivany on What Makes Opera a Vital Part of Canada’s Vibrant Culture

(Photo: Alexander Shelley © Rémi Thériault / Joel Ivany © Taylor Long) OperaWire recently attended Canada’s National Arts Centre (NAC) for their National Arts Centre Orchestra (NACO) semi-staged production of Puccini’s “Tosca.” The day after their opening night performance, OperaWire was invited to sit down with the Music Director and Conductor of NACO, Alexander Shelley, and the Artistic Director of Edmonton {…}

Sep 2, 2025

Q & A: Nicola Cleary on the Sligo Baroque Music Festival

(Photo: Ferdia Durkin) On the evening of Friday, September 26th, the Sligo Baroque Music Festival kicks off this year’s festival with a concert entitled “Corelliana” by the Vespres d’Amadi Baroque Orchestra, directed by Dani Espasa, at the city’s St. John’s Cathedral. As its name suggests, it is a festival dedicated to baroque music in all its forms, including opera. Although {…}

Aug 21, 2025

Creating a New Model – OperaDelaware’s Company Artists Program Heads to Second Year

(Photo: OperaDelaware) OperaDelaware, founded in 1945 and the 11th oldest company in the US, was set to celebrate its 75th season in 2020, right as the COVID pandemic began. The artists were about to arrive in Wilmington to begin rehearsals. As the company—and the rest of the art world—realized how the pandemic would impact their work, administrators and board members {…}

Aug 9, 2025

Q & A: Mimi Johnson, the Founder & Director of Performing Artservices (1972) & Lovely Music (1978), on Robert Ashley’s ‘Celestial Excursions’

(Credit: Matilde Chambon) Mimi Johnson is founder and director of Performing Artservices (1972) and Lovely Music (1978). She was married to composer Robert Ashley and continues to produce and tour his work, including all of Ashley’s operas, from “Perfect Lives” (1978-81) through “Crash” (2013-15) and “Quicksand “(2011-16). OperaWire reviewed Johnson’s most recent productions of Ashley’s operas, including “Improvement (Don Leaves {…}

Jul 30, 2025

Q & A: Constantine Orbelian on the New York City Opera, Dmitri Hvorostovsky & Future Albums

In 2024, the New York City Opera named Constantine Orbelian the Executive Director of the company while still continuing as the Music Director. The company has gone through a series of challenges since it reopened in 2016 and has not had a linear season. However, it has continued to perform at Bryant Park every summer, bringing classic works to the {…}

Jul 20, 2025

Q & A: Conductor James Gaffigan on Loving Wagner, His Musical Grounding & the Idiosyncrasies of Conducting

Recognised worldwide for his natural ease and extraordinary collaborative spirit, conductor James Gaffigan has attracted international attention for his prowess as a conductor of both symphony orchestras and opera. The mutual trust he builds with artists empowers them to cultivate the highest art possible. Gaffigan is uniquely positioned, with music directorships at two international opera houses. He is the General {…}

Jul 6, 2025

Q & A: Valentin Schwarz on the Bayreuth Festival’s ‘Ring Cycle’

(Credit: Daniel.Karmann) At the age of 33 Vienna-based Valentin Schwarz designed and directed a controversial staging of Wagner’s “Der Ring des Nibelungen,” which for the past four years has been featured at the celebrated Bayreuth Festival. This August 2025 marks Bayreuth’s final performance of Schwarz’s “Ring.” Starting in the autumn, he becomes artistic director of the Deutsches Nationaltheater and Staatskapelle {…}

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