Q & A: Katerina Burton, the Soprano Soloist for the Cathedral Choral Society’s Performance of Mozart’s Requiem at National Cathedral, Washington, DC

(Photo credit: Gillian Riesen) When she was a child, Katerina Burton remembered her mother, a competitive figure skater, working to opera. “I loved watching her and other professionals skate to music from ‘Carmen,’ ‘Tosca,’ ‘Tristan und Isolde,’ etc…and I really just fell in love with the music and the storytelling,” Burton told OperaWire in a recent interview. That was the {…}

Oct 14, 2025

Q & A: Nicolò Balducci Talks About His Voice & The Roles That Are Making Him A Countertenor In Demand

(Photo: Guiseppe Tricarico) Countertenor Nicolò Balducci first came to attention at the 2022 Early Music Festival in Innsbruck, where he won 3rd prize as well as the Young Artist Award in its Cesti singing competition. Three years later, he is now an established singer with an impressive CV, boasting a wide repertoire of roles from operas of the baroque era, {…}

Oct 9, 2025

Q & A: Mezzo-Soprano Sasha Cooke & Composer Jasmine Barnes on ‘American Lament’ & How Artists Reflect Reality

(Photos: © Sasha Cooke press / Jasmine Barnes press) The pending arrival of 2026- the country’s Semiquincentennial, got mezzo- soprano Sasha Cooke thinking about what it means to be an American in these times of unrest and division, and what the country has represented these 250 years. Her five-city “Of Thee I Sing” recital tour begins November 4th and features {…}

Oct 3, 2025

Q & A: Dave Monaco on How a Singer’s Voice Decides for Them, Not the Other Way Around

(Photo: © Riccardo Sammartini) Dave Monaco is not yet 30, but has already been hailed as a “tenor with exquisite natural vocality but impetuous elegance.” He is one of the most talented singers of the bel canto repertoire, particularly valued for his interpretations of Rossini’s work. Monaco has made a name for himself as a true virtuoso in the world {…}

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 29, 2025

Q & A: Soprano Sophie Junker On Playing Giulia In Cavalli’s ‘Pompeo Magno’ & Her Forthcoming Debut At The Wexford Festival Opera.

(Photo: Alan Neilson) The main presentation at this year’s Bayreuth Baroque Festival was a lavish, fully staged production of Francesco Cavalli’s 1666 opera, “Pompeo Magno,” boasting a large cast of high-quality singers and actors. Playing the role of Giulia was the Belgian soprano Sophie Junker, who, since winning both the London Händel Competition in 2010 and Innsbruck’s Cesti Competition in {…}

Sep 26, 2025

Q & A: Soprano Larissa Rosanoff, From Financial Analyst to World Traveler to Opera Singer

(Photo: Philippe Palma) Larissa Rosanoff spent seven years in Moscow studying piano at the Gnesin Academy of Music where she began, at the young age of five, her voyage in music. There she acquired the necessary base for continuing professional studies in Switzerland. The memories of having performed in such prestigious venues as the Tchaikovsky Hall or the Grande Hall {…}

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 {…}

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