On Dec. 1, the Clarion Choir and Clarion Orchestra will join forces for a free concert with Isabel Leonard and Anthony Roth Costanzo to perform a suite from “Judas Maccabeus” at historic Temple Emanu-El in celebration of Hanukkah. The program will also include arias, duets, and choruses from Händel’s “Esther,” “Israel in Egypt,” and “Rodelinda.” OperaWire had a chance to {…}
One of the successes of this year’s Wexford Festival Opera was undoubtedly the Wexford Factory, a program of masterclasses introduced by the festival’s artistic director Rosetta Cucchi aimed at developing young talent. The participants are also given the opportunity to sing in an opera on the main stage during the afternoon, replacing the 60 to 90 minute opera short productions, {…}
Rafael Payare dreams big. The Venezuelan conductor arrived in San Diego during the 2019-20 season ready to make his mark with the orchestra and to establish it as one of the leading American orchestras in the world. But that dream was slowed down in March 2020 when the pandemic struck. But it didn’t stop the conductor from creating. During that {…}
For over a year and a half, Jason Duika has not appeared on stage due to the pandemic. During that time, he found ways of performing and even founded his own company PorchOpera to create opportunities to reach audiences around his home. But the time has now come for the baritone to return to the stage to open West Bay {…}
(Credit: Lalo Gonzalez) Elise Caluwaerts simultaneously studied at the conservatories of Antwerp with Lucienne Van Deyck (classical singing) and Brussels (early music), followed by the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, where she graduated cum laude with Diane Forlano. She took master classes with Peter Kooij, Elly Ameling, David Wilson Johnson, Jozef De Beenhouwer and Gemma Visser. She also coached in {…}
In 2019, Matilda Sterby graduated from the University College of Opera in Stockholm ready to begin her professional career. But 2020 was hit with a pandemic and Sterby’s operatic engagements were canceled including house and role debuts. As a result, the soprano was forced to take a job as a teacher and shift her career path in order to make {…}
(Credit: Sim Canetty Clarke/ Christina Raphaelle) Gerald Finley and Susan Bullock are two world-class artists who have performed at all the major opera stages the world over. Collectively, they have appeared at The Metropolitan Opera, the English National Opera, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Wiener Staatsoper, Canadian Opera Company, Carnegie Hall, Opera North, La Scala, Sydney Opera, La Monnaie, {…}
On Nov. 1, 2021, Guildhall School’s Opera will present a double bill of Bizet’s “Le Docteur Miracle” and Pauline Viardot’s “Cendrillon.” The production will fulfill Viardot’s desire with a new chamber orchestration by Amy Crankshaw, Guildhall doctoral composer and a graduate of the school’s MA Opera Making & Writing program presented in an association with the Royal Opera House. The {…}
Zombies and Opera… Raise your hand if that’s a combination that immediately comes to mind? Yeah me neither. In fact they couldn’t feel more different could they? Zombies are the incarnation of chaos. The texture of zombie films and art is grimy, decayed. It could not be further from popular culture’s opera references. The opulent. The high art. The sublime. {…}