Q & A: Lina Gonzalez-Granados, Lidiya Yankovskaya, & Elizabeth Askren On How The Hart Institute For Women Conductors Helped Shape Their Careers

For five years, the Dallas Opera’s Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for Women Conductors has done something that few other major companies have done – champion women conductors. The program, the first ever designed to meet the needs of women opera conductors, has allowed participants an opportunity to engage in a wide-range of musical opportunities alongside some of the most {…}

Oct 26, 2019

Heading Into Foreign Territory – Mezzo-Soprano Sarah Mesko Set For ‘Carmen,’ The Role Least Like Her

(Credit: Dario Acosta) Sarah Mesko is walking a straight path toward an important career. The Arkansas native has built her success on solid academic training and noteworthy apprenticeships, and has received bundles of prestigious awards in return. She has performed with scores of professional companies in the United States, including the Met where she has paid her dues as a {…}

Oct 25, 2019

Q & A: Mezzo Ekaterina Semenchuk On Her Passion For Verdi & Her Vast Repertory

(Credit: Alexey Kostromin) When you think of Verdi mezzo, there are few singers that fit that bill as well as Russian artist Ekaterina Semenchuk. For years now, she has been the go-to mezzo-soprano in Verdi’s major roles, finding major triumphs at such venues as the Opéra National de Paris, the Teatro Real de Madrid, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, the {…}

Oct 20, 2019

Q & A: Soprano Sherezade Panthaki On the Art of Baroque Music

Sherezade Panthaki is one of today’s most recognized Baroque singers. An acknowledged star in the early-music field, she has performed with some of the most prestigious Baroque and early period orchestras, as well as with such prominent conductors as Nicholas McGegan, Masaaki Suzuki, Mark Morris, Nicholas Kraemer, Matthew Halls, Paul Agnew, and Lawrence Cummings. This weekend, Sherezade Panthaki returns to {…}

Oct 20, 2019

Q & A: Asmik Grigorian on ‘Salome,’ a New Chapter in Her Career & Letting Go of Her Father

(Credit: Rokas Baltakys) In just a little over a year or so, Soprano Asmik Grigorian has jumped into the spotlight and remained at the forefront of the opera world. The big reason for the soprano’s rise to the forefront is her now iconic interpretation of “Salome” at the Salzburg Festival. “The Lithuanian soprano captivates the audience as much as she {…}

Oct 19, 2019

New Life With Hearing – How Soprano Anne Walker Overcame Hearing Loss To Revive Her Singing Career

“This is the greatest miracle of science and technology,” said lyric soprano Dr. Anne Walker in a recent chat with OperaWire. “I’m not sure where it’s going, but I know it’s not for nothing.” Though her destination may be uncertain, she has come from a place of feeling isolated and ashamed. Artistically Compromised Over 15 years ago, before she turned {…}

Oct 18, 2019

Q & A: Bass Maurizio Muraro On Working With Young Stars & His Favorite Roles

(Credit: © ROH Photographer: CLIVE BARDA) The influx of new and younger opera stars is always a major touchstone of the art form across generations. But the old guard is a key part of their development, presenting a gateway between traditions of the past and today’s trends. Italian bass Maurizio Muraro loves being a part of this bridge. He has {…}

Oct 16, 2019

Q & A: French Contralto Delphine Galou On Her Love Of Singing Baroque

(Photo: Giulia Papetti) Last summer, the Vivaldi Edition, devoted to recording the entire Foà and Giordano Collection of nearly 450 Vivaldi manuscripts, released two recordings. Both discs, one of sacred music and the other of secular music, are for the contralto voice. The soloist on both discs is Delphine Galou, the French baroque specialist whose distinctive voice has drawn high {…}

Oct 13, 2019

Q & A: Italian Bass Carlo Lepore On Specializing In The Works of Rossini & Other Buffo Repertory

Rossini is one of opera’s most popular composer and throughout the past centuries, his works have given the world a plethora of an incredible interpreters. Today, Rossini’s popularity is as big as ever with an increased number of devotees and interpreters tackling not only his most famous operas, but some of his rare gems. Italian bass Carlo Lepore is one {…}

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