Young Thomas Conlin was very exciting about his first contact with the classical music. His parents bought a piano for him, and he wasn’t able to resist the temptation. “When I was five-years-old my father won a piano in a contest,” Conlin reminisced in a recent interview with OperaWire. “From the day the piano was delivered I couldn’t keep my {…}
(Credit: Dragosh Cojocaru) In 2011, Moldovian soprano Valentina Nafornița won the first prize at the Cardiff Singer of the World Competition and quickly became an ensemble member of the Wiener Staatsoper. From that moment on, she obtained a number of important assignments around the world, making debuts at the Salzburg Festival, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Opéra de Lausanne, and Opéra {…}
(Credits: Patricia Varela) Young Norwegian soprano Elisabeth Teige has established herself as one of the most sought-after dramatic sopranos of her generation. She has appeared in the number of dramatic roles including Senta in “Der Fliegende Holländer,” Leonore in “Fidelio,” Cio-Cio-San in “Madama Butterfly,” Irene Wagner’s “Rienzi, der Letzte der Tribunen,” Elsa in “Lohengrin,” and the title character of Puccini’s {…}
(Credit: Javier del Real) Mexican tenor Javier Camarena really needs no introduction. As one of the foremost tenors in the world, he has become a fixture at all the major opera houses. However, he has forged a particularly unique one with the Teatro Real de Madrid where audiences have witnessed some of his biggest triumphs. He performed the now legendary {…}
(Provided by Zoran Todorovich ) Zoran Todorovich was never going to be an opera star. The tenor, who was born in 1961 during golden years of former Yugoslavia, grew up with a non-musical family. “I was very happy to have wonderful parents and to grow up in a family full of love,” he told OperaWire in a recent interview. “Growing {…}
(Credit: Dario Acosta) Few sopranos have defined the last decade the way that Bulgarian diva Sonya Yoncheva has. Since her major victory at the Operalia Competition in 2010, Yoncheva has become a household headliner at all the major opera houses around the world. But what has arguably distinguished the soprano over these past few years has been her willingness to {…}
Arianna Vendittelli’s career is one that most singers would dream of. She has an established reputation in the Mozart, Rossini and baroque repertoire, singing at the highest level in such roles as roles such as Fiordiligi, Zerlina, Cleopatra, Serse, Eurydice and many more. Moreover, she has been guided by such venerated artists as Ottavio Dantone, Riccardo Muti and Alessandro De {…}
Catherine Foster is known as one of the great of Brünnhildes of our time. She has performed the role six consecutive times at the Bayreuth Festival and continues to be in-demand for her interpretation. And while there is no denying that this might be her signature role, it is impossible to discount three other operas that she is also dominating {…}
At last year’s Wexford Festival Opera I caught a recital by the largely unknown Polish baritone, Simon Mechlinski, and he made quite an impression. At the end of festival he received the Gerard Arnhold Bursary, an award made to a singer who is considered to have outstanding potential. This year he returned to Wexford and gave another recital, in addition {…}
(Credit: Dario Acosta) Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen’s family fully expected him to pursue a career in Public Policy when he went to Princeton University. But that wasn’t the path he would take. Instead he got his B.A. in History and studied Voice as well, when he realized just how deep music and he were deeply intertwined. The music bug that had {…}
(Credit: Barbara Dietl) Czech-born vocalist Tomaš Kral has a virtuosic baritone with a warm timbre which he uses to remind the modern-day audiences of the charm of early music, its purity of spirit, and the peace it brings. Audiences have had the opportunity to experience these aspects of Kral’s artistry through his performances with such as Collegium 1704, Collegium Marianum, {…}
