In 2016, while still studying at the Royal College of Music in London, Swiss soprano Marie Lys was offered the role of Asteria in Buxton Festival’s production of “Tamerlano.” Although it was her first professional stage performance she gave a noteworthy presentation, with critics applauding her “impressive range,” “sweet singing” and “appealing, flexible tone.” Since then her career has been {…}
(Photo Courtesy of Opera Orlando) The canon of operas based on Russian literature is expanding with a new entrant that will receive its world premiere by Opera Orlando this week: the one-act chamber opera “Death of Ivan Ilych,” based on Leo Tolstoy’s novella. Composed by John Young, with the English libretto by his former singing colleague Alan Olejniczak (oh-leh-NEE-check), it {…}
Last month the Hawaiʻi Opera Theatre’s inaugurated the Opera Kanikapila session. The new series pairs opera singers with local musicians from different cultures to explore and combine their artistic abilities. Native Hawaiian Quinn Kelsey, one of opera’s leading baritones, inaugurated the series alongside Taimane Tauiliili Bobbie Gardner with a program of diverse operatic and Hawaiian music. Kelsey is well known {…}
I first heard the Welsh lullaby “Suo Gân” watching Steven Spielberg’s 1987 film, “Empire of the Sun.” The moving piece is perfect for cinematic use, and if you live in the United Kingdom, you can hear it as the title song for the new television series “The Pembrokeshire Murders.” (The show is also available in the United States on Britbox.) {…}
(Photo: Kaupo Kikkas) The recent performance of “Eight Songs for a Mad King” from Bayerische Staatsoper provoked so many thoughts in my head. It questioned the humanity and sanity in our world. It reflected modern times so vividly. It struck with the intensity of a live performance, so I could not take my eyes away. The evening teased the discoveries {…}
Jason Cady, co-artistic director of the New York City-based “fun and fearless opera collective,” Experiments in Opera (EiO), has been, well, experimenting in fun(yun) and fearless ways with a new podcast opera, “Aqua Net and Funyuns,” released in December 2020. Aqua Net is, of course, the hairspray preferred by 99 percent of Hair Band rockers in the 1980s and those {…}
Edgaras Montvidas, one of the most famous Lithuanian tenors, took 2020 as a bouquet of various experiences. Living in London since 2001 and working at the Covent Garden Opera House, he was a soloist at the Frankfurt Opera House between 2003-2006 and began last year’s season with his debut at the world premiere of Christian Jost’s “Egmont.” But what was {…}
There’s no doubt what video productions have meant for the opera world over the last year. With COVID-19 continuing to rage, live performance is simply not an option at this moment and will struggle to become the norm once again for some time. In its stead, companies have turned to the magic of cinema and streaming options available for distribution. {…}
Opera has always been known as the instrument of psychic and social health. But last year it also became a risk of physical health. Just when we needed culture the most, 2020 became a year of pandemic and a year without opera. Therefore both artists and opera institutions are confronting a crisis of their own. The arts generated a greater {…}
