(Photo Credit: Askonas Holt Management) After making a strong first impression with his debut in a new production of Prokofiev’s “Betrothal in a Monastery” at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin and looking forward to his Met Opera debut in October for the 2019-20 season in the role of Schaunard in Puccini’s “La Bohème,” Andrey Zhilikhovsky returns to Glyndebourne for the {…}
This year’s schedule for Innsbruck’s Early Music Festival includes three operas from the baroque period: “La Dori” by Antonio Cesti; “Merope” by Farinelli’s brother, Riccardo Broschi, and “Ottone” by Handel. Over the next few weeks Operawire will be interviewing the three directors responsible for the staging of the operas. Cesti’s “La Dori” was written in 1657, for the Court in {…}
Baritone Peter Schöne has enjoyed a solid international opera career at over 20 opera houses around the world, including the Komische Oper Berlin where he made his debut in “Greek” back in 2002. And now he will add to his list of operatic exploits when he performs his first opera in the UK this June in “The Hunting Gun.” The {…}
Once a singer stops performing, he or she may often move into teaching or directing. Some singers add either to their schedules as a contrast to their stage performances, though this often represents a decline in being the star attraction onstage. But Alek Shrader is doing it all at the same time while still very much in his vocal prime. {…}
For many artists, Verdi’s operas are the supreme pinnacle that they work towards. Getting there and being one of the foremost interpreters of his work often requires tremendous technique skill, but also great artistic maturity. For tenor Enea Scala, Verdi has always been a dream from the start of his career. While he has focused on the Bel Canto repertoire for {…}
Sydney-based Pinchgut Opera became the first Australian company to win an International Opera Award when it was recently awarded best “Rediscovered Work” for Hasse’s 1740 “Artaserse” at this year’s Awards in London. OperaWire talked to the organization’s Artistic Director, Erin Helyard about the company’s beginnings, upcoming projects, and future endeavors. . OperaWire: What is Pinchgut? What is its brief and {…}
Barbara Hannigan doesn’t like being called a genius. “I work hard,” she always retorts. And that’s true. To catch Barbara Hannigan for an interview is very tricky. At the time of this interview, the soprano has just finished her work in Copenhagen, where she performed as a conductor alongside the young artists from her Equilibrium project, and also sang Abrahamsen’s {…}
Laura Kaminsky, Kimberly Reed, and Mark Campbell’s “As One” is set for a major run in New York this weekend. Among the performers in the two casts will be baritone Michael Kelly, who will perform the role of Hannah Before. Kelly is an avid performer of contemporary works, having performed in world premieres by Matthew Aucoin, David Del Tredici, Mohammed {…}
Few endeavors are more challenging than creating your own opera company. It requires tremendous amounts of research as well as more challenging audience building than other artforms. But that is exactly what Gail R. Gordon did with Numi Opera, her second opera company. She actually created Opera Nova back in 2000 as a venue where her students could develop their {…}