Q & A: Quinn Kelsey on Opera Kanikapila, Hawai’i Opera Theatre & Collaborating with Taimane Gardner

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 {…}

Feb 13, 2021

Q&A: 13-Year-Old Welsh Treble Cai Thomas on His Album ‘Seren’ & Singing the ‘Pembrokeshire Murders’ Title Song ‘Suo Gân’

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.) {…}

Feb 11, 2021

Without Making Compromises – Baritone Holger Falk on Empty Space as a Key-Driver of the Artistic Self-Development

(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 {…}

Feb 9, 2021

Q&A: Co-Artistic Director of Experiments in Opera Jason Cady on EiO’s Serial Opera Podcast ‘Aqua Net and Funyuns’

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 {…}

Feb 3, 2021

Q & A: Tenor Edgaras Montvidas on COVID-19, New Operas, & Picking the Right Repertory

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 {…}

Jan 22, 2021

Q & A: Baritone Johnathan McCullough on Starring & Directing the Film Version of ‘Soldier Songs’

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. {…}

Jan 19, 2021

A Year Without Opera – Singers from Germany, Austria, U.K., U.S. & Canada on their Struggles, Discoveries & Hopes

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 {…}

Jan 19, 2021

Q & A: Artistic Director Susan Orlando Talks About The Vivaldi Edition

The Vivaldi Edition from Naïve Records is now entering the 21st year of its incredible plan to record all of Vivaldi’s music, which is held in the National Library in Turin. It is a project much-loved by Vivaldi and Baroque enthusiasts the world over, and continues to grow in popularity with each new recording welcomed with baited breath, not least {…}

Jan 17, 2021

Q & A: Soprano Dorothea Herbert On Future of The Opera, General Optimism in Life Amidst COVID-19

(Credit: Linda Rabisch) When COVID-19 struck in March 2020, one of the final “live” performances to take the stage was a production of Dvořák’s “Rusalka” in Krefeld, Germany with dramatic soprano Dorothea Herbert in the title role. For her, the experience was surreal. “We performed on that night in a totally empty theater. There was no audience, just the darkness {…}

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