After years at the University of Cape Town followed by a stint as a Young Artist with the Cape Town Opera and a 2019 audience award at the International Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition, soprano Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha shone in the spotlight of the 2021 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, becoming the first African to win the coveted {…}
(Credit: Victor Santiago) Erika Grimaldi is quickly rising to the top as one of the most acclaimed Verdi and Puccini sopranos in the world. Her voice has been praised for its rich and round voice and has been heard at such theaters as the Teatro alla Scala, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, Deutsche Oper in Berlin, Teatro {…}
(Credit: Marco Borggreve) Mark Padmore has established himself as an important recital and concert singer who has performed around the world in many of the greatest theaters in a diverse repertoire. He has been an Artist in Residence with the Bayerische Rundfunk Orchester, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, and Wigmore Hall and has served as an artistic director for the St. Endellion Summer Music {…}
Swiss soprano Gabriela Scherer is in high demand for her lyric German roles with her Arabella and her Senta in “Der fliegende Holländer” among her most popular warhorses. But she isn’t letting anyone put her in a box. The soprano is leading her career on her own terms and performing roles that speak to her. This season she made her {…}
(Photo: Khalid Al-Busaidi, ROHM) OperaWire has been in Oman at the Royal Opera House Muscat to review a production of Puccini’s “La Bohème” and a concert performance entitled “Homage To Maria Callas,” starring the great Italian baritone Leo Nucci and the fabulous Bulgarian soprano Sonya Yoncheva, along with the Egyptian tenor Ragaa Eldin. The stars of the show, Yoncheva and {…}
(Photo Credit: Chris Gonz) In 1994, when he was 10 years old, Julian Prégardien sang the role of the First Boy as a member of the Limburger Domsingknaben, performing in “Die Zauberflöte” all around the Frankfurt region. Fast forward more than 20 years to 2010 when Prégardien, whose career has seen him perform for the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Staatsoper Hamburg, Bayerische {…}
(Photo: Frances Marshall) With Ireland’s Blackwater Valley Opera Festival about to get underway, OperaWire thought it would be a good opportunity to catch up with mezzo-soprano Sharon Carty, who will be playing the role of Sesto in the festival’s headline presentation, Handel’s “Giulio Cesare.” 2024 is proving to be a busy year for Carty. She has had a full calendar, {…}
Marco Angioloni is not a name that is particularly well-known to Italian audiences. Having left Italy 12 years ago to study in Paris, he then chose to establish his career in France and now rarely returns to the country of his birth, at least not for professional reasons. A thoughtful and careful singer, Angioloni has developed his talents in line {…}
(Photo credit: Claudia Greco) Opera singers, for the most part, seem to take on certain characteristics of the role they are portraying. But the French mezzo-soprano, Virginie Verrez, does not just portray the role—she becomes it. No matter what she is singing, Verrez enchants the listener and has the gift of taking one at once into her world which she {…}
(Photo: Christopher Wallace) In 2021, OperaWire reviewed a splendid concert presentation of Handel’s “Ariodante” at the Göttingen Handel Festival. With a strong cast, which included star names such as Marie Lys and Emily Fons. Quality performances were certainly expected, and they did not disappoint. However, it was soprano Rachel Redmond, whom I had previously never heard sing, in the role {…}
(© Photo: Ben Wolf) Chilean-American tenor Jonathan Tetelman released his second Deutsche Grammophon album “The Great Puccini,” and made his Metropolitan Opera debut just over six months apart. He spoke with OperaWire about his recent success and the power of Puccini. Tetelman made his Met debut in the role of Ruggero in “La Rondine,” and will be returning as Pinkerton {…}