Q & A: Soprano Jennifer Zetlan On the Singing the Title Role in Ricky Ian Gordon’s ‘Ellen West’

(Photo: Arielle  Doneson) Soprano Jennifer Zetlan is a singer known for her enthusiasm for contemporary opera. She has been featured in at least nine premieres of American operas, and created roles in two world premieres, the Messenger in Matthew Aucoin’s “Crossing,” and Fanny in Ricky Ian Gordon’s “Morning Star.” Alongside Zetlan’s passion for new opera, her vocal agility enables her {…}

Q & A: Director Thomas Guthrie On Utilizing Puppetry For ‘L’Orfeo’

(Credit: Theresa Pewal) When audiences check out Monteverdi’s “L’Orfeo” on July 5 and 7, 2019 at the York Early Music Festival and LOS St. Luke’s London, they will see the iconic opera utilizing puppetry and ancient Greek theatrical techniques. Developed under director Thomas Guthrie, with the cooperation of students at Princeton University, these techniques will showcase one of the Guthrie’s {…}

Q & A : Director Antón Armendariz Diaz On His Adaptation of Poulenc’s ‘The Human Voice’

(Credit: Natalia Munro) New York opera audiences will have another opportunity to encounter one of Francis Poulenc’s works after “Dialogues des Carmélites” finished off the Met Opera season to the acclaim of audiences and critics alike. The U.S. debut of the Spanish production of “La voix humaine (“The Human Voice”),” directed by Antón Armendariz Diaz, and starring soprano Ashley Bell and {…}

Q & A: Moldovan Baritone Andrey Zhilikhovsky On Cultivating Balance & Enjoying His Journey

(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 {…}

Q & A: Stefano Vizioli On The Modernity Of Cesti’s ‘La Dori’ At This Summer’s Innsbruck Early Music Festival

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 {…}