(Photo: R. Tinker) The ever-elusive Verdi baritone. A voice with a unique timbre, range, expressive quality, and psychological immersion that manages to let us into the lives of the composer’s most complex and complete characters. A lot of baritones aspire to this title, but it’s not in the cards for most of them. But it was for Todd Thomas. Just {…}
(Credit: Ben VanHouten) On March 5, the Frost Opera Theater will present the world premiere of Michael Dellaira and J. D. McClatchy’s new work “The Leopard.” The opera is based on the 1958 novel, “Il Gattopardo,” by Giuseppe Tomasi Di Lampedusa, which later became a 1963 epic historical drama film directed and co-written by Luchino Visconti. The opera will be {…}
(Credit: Yan Bleney) On Feb. 28, the Metropolitan Opera will showcase the company premiere of “Don Carlos,” the French version of Verdi’s opera. For the new production by Sir David McVicar, the company has lined up an all-star cast that includes Canadian baritone Étienne Dupuis. Dupuis has performed around the world at the Metropolitan Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Opéra de {…}
Soprano Abiodun Koya is about as multifaceted as a person can get: opera singer, poet, fashion designer, model, activist, and humanitarian, to name a few. But the title she’s most proud of? Humanitarian. The soprano is living out that purpose, singing in front of and meeting people who can effect positive change and help forward her foundation’s goals. The Abiodun {…}
Photo: Andrea Macchia Situated within easy reach of the Dolomites and the Alps lies the small Tyrolean city of Bolzano. Formally part of the Austrian Empire, it was ceded to Italy at the end of World War I, and despite Mussolini’s subsequent attempt to Italianize the town, it still retains much of its Austrian heritage, with a quarter of the {…}
Jennifer Johnson Cano has garnered critical acclaim for committed performances of both new and standard repertoire. For her performance as Offred in Poul Ruders’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” she was lauded as “towering…restless, powerful, profound, she is as formidable as this astonishingly demanding role deserves.” With more than 100 performances on the stage at The Metropolitan Opera, her most recent roles {…}
On Feb. 26, ROCO will present the world premiere of “Earth” by Aaron Jay Kernis. The new opus is a reflection upon the fundamental environmental crisis of our time and was created in collaboration with poet and agricultural researcher Kai Hoffman-Krull. “Earth” tells the story of a farmer’s life through vignettes exploring the incremental changes of the seasons and how {…}
When she was a child, Lillian Groag’s family treated opera as if it were pop music. So it’s no surprise that by the time she was but five, she was already attending her first opera and falling in love with the art form. “By 10 I knew the words of all the big 10 which I wailed around the house {…}
Elsa Dreisig credits Mozart with being the composer who first inspired her to become a professional singer. And over the past years, the soprano has dominated his works singing his operas around the world. After two successful albums, Dreisig decided to pay tribute to the famed creator with an album devoted entirely to arias from his operas particularly the three {…}