(Photo by Anne-Laure Lechat) “I was lucky to have a great music teacher in my teens, who gave us very inspiring compositional assignments. I remember the experience of going to school as a teenager and thinking about my compositions I was writing for the class, and fell in love with the experience of spending my thinking time on abstract sounds. {…}
“I was drawn to composing because of an intrinsic fascination with sound and a strong curiosity in figuring out how music that moves me was created,” Composer John Nobles told OperaWire in a recent interview. Nobles is the recipient of the Azrieli Commission for Canadian Music for his piece “Kanata” for Large Choir. A JUNO Award-winner for “Classical Composition of {…}
(Photo credit: Alessio Chao) The 25-year-old Italian mezzo-soprano Emma Alessi Innocenti is still at the stage in her career in which she is attempting to establish herself as a known singer within the industry. Of course, at such a young age, she has had relatively few opportunities to perform in fully staged operas. But by sheer chance, OperaWire has reviewed {…}
At an early point in his life, Georgian and Israeli composer Josef Bardanashvili was set to become a painter like his father and older brothers. But it all changed at age 13 when he started to learn how to play the trumpet. From there, his love for music was irresistible and he would eventually make his way to the Tbilisi {…}
(Photo credit: Matt Madison Clark) Evan LeRoy Johnson is an American tenor who received the Barbara and Stanley Richman Memorial Award from the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, where he was a Gerdine Young Artist. He has performed widely in his home country and has made acclaimed debuts for numerous European opera houses, including Bayerische, Oper Frankfurt, Opernhaus Zürich and {…}
(Photo: Ilenia Brunelli) This summer’s Ravenna Festival saw the premiere of Danilo Comitini and Francesca Masi’s opera “Dilexi”, based on the life of the Roman Empress Galla Placidia. A success in its own right, the opera also showcased the talents of the young soprano Laura Zecchini, who is still completing her master’s degree at the Cesena Conservatory. Notwithstanding her limited {…}
(photo: Lukáš Kimlička) Soprano Adriana Kučerová is a star of the Opera at the Slovak National Theatre. Having just seen her perform the role of the Vixen in Janacek’s masterpiece in Bratislava, OperaWire thought it would be a good opportunity to find out a little more about her. OperaWire: What was the first opera you saw? Adriana Kučerová: “La Traviata.” {…}
(Photo credit: Erin Baiano) GRAMMY-winning tenor Karim Sulayman, the star of David T. Little’s new monodrama,“What Belongs to You” spoke with OperaWire about undertaking this uniquely challenging role, and working with the close-knit creative team. “What Belongs to You” is based on Garth Greenwell’s debut novel of the same name. He describes it as “the story of a man caught {…}
Fabio Luisi is one of the world’s greatest conductors who has performed many great symphonic works and operatic repertoire. His work has been recognized through many awards including Italy’s Cavaliere della Repubblica Italiana and Commendatore della Stella d’Italia, and Genoa’s Grifo d’Oro, the highest honor given by the city of Genoa. He has served as music director at the Zurich {…}