Q & A: Carla Lucero on How Opera & Storytelling Meet Social Justice

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 {…}

Jul 3, 2026

Q & A: Tanisha Mitchell on ‘Opera Talks’ & Educating Audiences

(Photo: Nicole Austin) Opera has long carried a reputation for exclusivity, an art form perceived as belonging to concert halls and formal dress rather than community rooms and public library shelves. Tanisha Mitchell has spent years working against that perception, building a platform that treats opera not as a rarefied pursuit but as a living tradition worth sharing anywhere an {…}

Jul 3, 2026

Q & A: Freddie de Tommaso on Recording ‘Marina’ & World Premiering a Verismo Opera

In 1888 Umberto Giordano, composer of famous verismo operas “Andrea Chenier” and “Fedora,” wrote a single act opera with which to enter a competition. Despite its moderate success, the opera was quickly forgotten and was lost to the archives. In February of this year, the unearthed opera, “Marina,” was recorded live at Milan’s Teatro Dal Verme, conducted by Vincenzo Milletarì {…}

Jul 2, 2026

Q & A: Frederica von Stade on Performing in Ravinia with Susan Graham, Doing Masterclasses & the Performances She Most Cherishes

Mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade spent decades among the most celebrated singers of her generation, performing on the world’s leading stages, including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Los Angeles Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera Covent Garden, the Vienna State Opera, and the Paris Opera. Though she stepped back from full time performing in 2010, retirement {…}

Jul 1, 2026

Q & A: Elena Moșuc on her Role Debut as Abigaille in ‘Nabucco,’ Sicily & Her Move to Dramatic Repertoire

Elena Moșuc has been singing for 36 years, having made her debut in 1990 before making her Zürich Opera House in 1991. It was there that she built the foundation of a career defined by coloratura roles and the light lyric repertoire of the Bel Canto tradition, establishing herself among the leading interpreters of that style on stages across Europe. {…}

Jun 29, 2026

Q & A: Lisette Oropesa on ‘I Puritani’s’ Elvira & Her Vast Repertoire

(Photo: Steven Harris) Lisette Oropesa is a widely acclaimed lyric coloratura soprano who is one of the most in-demand artists on the world’s stages. Her expansive repertoire includes Gluck, Händel, Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti, Wagner, Verdi, Bizet, Massenet, Bellini and Puccini, among others. She has recorded a continuously expanding discography of studio albums, live recitals, and opera films. Operawire caught up {…}

Jun 26, 2026

Q & A: Mané Galoyan on How People Are Longing for Real Singing

(Photo: Mané Galoyan press) Armenian soprano Mané Galoyan is steadily conquering Europe’s leading opera stages. Her voice has become associated with roles that require both impeccable vocal technique and a powerful dramatic presence, while each new performance becomes an event followed closely by audiences and critics. This summer, the soprano became part of one of Madrid’s most anticipated musical events: {…}

Jun 24, 2026

Q & A: Conductor James Conlon on the Ravinia Festival, Mozart & His Time With Los Angeles Opera

James Conlon has spent more than five decades at the center of the operatic and symphonic worlds, building one of the most expansive conducting careers of his generation. A New Yorker by birth and formation, he rose quickly through the ranks of major opera houses and orchestras on both sides of the Atlantic, logging some 20 years of full-time residence {…}

Jun 23, 2026

Q & A: Founder Peter Kozma on Opera Neo ‘s 15th Anniversary, His Greatest Lessons & a Look Into the Future

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 {…}

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