The choice of the young Spanish mezzo Patricia Illera for the roles of María and her shadow in Ástor Piazzolla and Horracio Ferrer’s opera “María de Buenos Aires” was a wise one. After studying medicine at the UAM and singing at the Madrid School of Singing (ESCM), she has been able to alternate between oratorios such as Saint Saëns and {…}
Marina Rebeka and Ludovic Tézier need little introduction. Simply put, they are two of the most important Verdi singers of our time. The two have sung several of the composer’s works, with Rebeka becoming the go-to soprano of the composer’s early works requiring Bel Canto agility, while Tézier has dominated many of the composer’s most dramatic operas. Recently they made {…}
(Credit: Slawek Przerwa) Legendary tenor Roberto Alagna is celebrating 43 years in the business. Considered to be the least talented in a large family of musicians, he nonetheless spent his youth busking around Paris cabarets, singing pop music accompanied with his guitar. But his passion, fired by Mario Lanza films, was opera and, largely self-taught, he pursued that dream. That {…}
(Credit: Alina Fejzo) In February, Cecilia Molinari will make her Lyric Opera of Chicago debut and her U.S. debut in a production of “Così fan tutte.” Over the years, the mezzo-soprano has become well known for her interpretations of bel canto, Mozart and baroque roles, notably in “Il barbiere di Siviglia,” “Le nozze di Figaro,” and “Ariodante.” She has performed {…}
(Photo: Guido Werner) Wanderer by name, wanderer by nature, Nils Wanderer is an internationally acclaimed German countertenor, actor and choreographer. He was winner of the 2022 Bundeswettbewerb Gesang and Second Prize Winner of the world’s most prestigious opera competition, Operalia, in the same year. He has been hailed, by Olyrix, for his “beautiful, dark, well developed and amber colored voice {…}
Andalusian tenor Pablo García-López is one of the rising voices on the European opera and concert scene. The tenor has performed all over the world on such stages as the Teatro Real, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège, Opéra de Lausanne, Royal Opera House of Muscat, Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia, and Théâtre du Capitole {…}
(Credit: Soloman Howard) Puerto Rican soprano Kresley Figueroa is a graduate of the Cafritz Young Artist with Washington National Opera where she has performed in numerous productions including “The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs,” “Partenope,” “La Périchole,” and “The Lion, The Unicorn, and Me.” She has also appeared alongside Renée Fleming, Thomas Hampson, and Denyce Graves in WNO’s annual gala. Figueroa {…}
The Teatro alla Scala’s opening night is one of the most important evenings in the opera world. The opening is always held on December 7, which celebrates the feast of Sant’Ambrogio. It is also streamed globally, creating much buzz around the world. For this year’s celebration, the Milan theater has chosen Shostakovich’s masterwork “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk” with Sara Jakubiak {…}
Earlier this month, soprano Katharina Konradi and pianist Daniel Heide released their new album, the third volume of their complete recordings of Liszt’s art songs. Since Liszt was one of the few Central European composers of his time who had mastered the French language in addition to German, the project is exclusively devoted to vocal settings of poems in French. Konradi is the {…}
(Credit: Manfred Baumann) Soprano Sonya Yoncheva is one of the most unique modern opera stars in the world. Where most take the conventional path, the soprano tends to experiment and move in directions that are constantly surprising. She’s engaged with the baroque repertoire, the bel canto, works by Mozart, romantic repertory, and verismo with a fluidity and mastery that few {…}
(Photo: Angéline Moizard) As a young singer from New York, Ilanah Lobel-Torres never imagined that a few bars of music in a supporting role {…}