Madrid’s Teatro Real is set to present the first-ever performances of Bernd Alois Zimmermann’s “Die Soldaten” in Spain. The occasion will see Spanish conductor Pablo Heras-Casado, the theater’s Principal Guest Conductor, in the pit with a distinguished cast and Calixto Bieto directing. Zimmermann’s only opera is one of the most challenging and extraordinary pieces in the 20th-century and when Oper {…}
We all know that the future of art in any country resides with the younger generations. Achieving that passing of the torch is far easier said than done and few embark fully on said commitment. Lydia Kontos, Executive Director of the Kaufman Music Center, is one such person who has made it her life to champion music education and develop {…}
Guido Loconsolo is one today’s leading bass-baritones singing all over the world in every major opera house. His career has seen him perform many leading roles from Baroque composers, Verdi, Puccini, and Mozart, a composer he specializes in and wants to continue singing. This week he makes his Florida debut performing at Opera Naples under the direction of Ramon Tebar. {…}
This week Italian soprano, Francesca Aspromonte, a rising star in the early music scene, will see the release of her first solo CD, “Prologue.” At the age of only 27, she is standing on the threshold of a glittering career, with critics running out of adjectives to describe her performances. Aspromonte made her professional debut as La Musica in Monteverdi’s {…}
The double bill of Puccini’s “Gianni Schicchi” and Michael Ching’s “Buoso’s Ghost” is currently enjoying a successful run at Opera Delaware, where it will finalize its run this coming weekend. Two of the performers taking part in the production are soprano Sara Duchovnay and mezzo Claudia Chapa, who also have a unique connection through Shoperatic.com, a peer-to-peer online fashion marketplace {…}
How do you get new audiences into the opera house? That question has puzzled companies for years as they try every trick in the book to bring millennials into the opera house. The art form, seemingly, depends on it. But the Scottish Opera tried a new tactic a year ago, and it’s bearing some fruit. Why not start the exposure {…}
“Tabula Rasa.” Many know the term to mean “blank slate,” but a more proper definition might be “erased slate.” That’s the idea behind composer Felix Jarrar and librettist / director Brittany Goodwin’s “Tabula Rasa,” which has its world premiere on May 4, 2018, as part of the New York Opera Fest, started. The concept of reformulating ideas to create new and {…}
Christopher Job has seen it all. The bass-baritone has worked with many of the world’s greatest artists, all while building up a unique career singing smaller roles at the Metropolitan Opera while performing bigger ones with other companies. The California native recently had an opportunity to perform with the LA Philharmonic on its 100th-anniversary concert. It was a major homecoming {…}
Who were the Vikings? The word itself certainly produces an impact on everyone, and yet, how well do we really know them? How much of our understanding of their existence is the result of legends that have been perpetuated through a wide range of media and literature? These questions were at the core of composer and librettist Jeffrey Leiser when {…}