How do you maintain a dramatic soprano voice fresh? The answer isn’t always obvious for a singer of that voice type. These voices, prized for their sheer power and weight, often face the most difficult repertoire in the operatic canon, many of which can be damaging if sung too often. But for acclaimed Canadian soprano Adrianne Pieczonka, who sings Beethoven’s {…}
Matthew Polenzani loves Mozart’s “Idomeneo.” During a recent interview with OperaWire, the tenor went so far as to call it the composer’s “greatest opera.” That’s right, with output that includes gems such as “Le Nozze di Figaro,” “Don Giovanni,” “Così Fan Tutte” and “Die Zauberflote,” Polenzani, who is among the greatest exponents of these very operas, puts his marker on {…}
Anna Caterina Antonacci is regarded as one of the greatest mezzo-sopranos of our time. She has performed all over the world in diverse repertoire and has thrilled audiences with her dramatic acting and vocal fireworks. Recently she has been making waves in Poulenc’s “La Voix Humaine,” one of the most popular one-woman operas in the world. She has performed the {…}
Back in 1933, with the Great Depression in full swing, famed Hollywood director George Cukor released a small film called “Dinner at Eight.” Starring Lionel and John Barrymore, Marie Dressler and Jean Harlow among others, the film established the cataclysmic world event in a very intimate setting. The film became a cult classic in ensuing decades and a new version {…}
“I have always felt like the odd one out. The way I put my voice together. No one knows what to do with me. In terms of my height, I was a six-foot girl since I was 10-years-old. I have always been the outsider.” This was Elza Van Den Heever’s response to my question regarding how she relates to the {…}
A butterfly can never be caged or it dies. The same can be said of an opera singer, who needs the freedom to explore and develop as an artist. When an artist is caged and not allowed to carve out an organic path, he or she may burn out very quickly. During a recent interview with OperaWire, soprano Pretty Yende {…}
When people talk about soprano Angela Meade, the first thing that they associate with her is one name – Verdi. The soprano has almost become synonymous with the great maestro from Busseto, her star thrust into the spotlight when she made her Metropolitan Opera debut in “Ernani” in 2008. Since then she has championed Verdi, singing some of his most {…}
Those two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. Those immortal words by Robert Frost might as well apply to almost anyone who takes on an artistic endeavor. But for bass Matthew Curran, the path to operatic success has been a truly unusual one, as {…}
Rain was pouring down for miles while composer Craig Bohmler was on a drive through the mountain region outside Phoenix. Everywhere he looked, visibility was low and he knew that due to the strong monsoon winds, staying out in this weather was probably not a wise proposition. He eventually stopped at “the second light.” “It’s important to note that it {…}