On Oct. 16, Michelle DeYoung will make her San Diego Symphony debut singing Mahler’s “Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen.” But the debut will be extra special because the concert will take place at the Rady Shell, a new bayside venue at Jacobs Park which has seen more than 88,000 visitors since its inauguration on August 8, 2021. OperaWire recently spoke to {…}
(Photo: Marina Andrenucci) With Wexford Festival Opera about to start its 70th season, OperaWire thought it would be a good opportunity to interview one of this year’s star singers. Fortunately, we were able to catch up with the Italian soprano Valentina Mastrangelo the day before she flew to Ireland to start rehearsals. She will be appearing in the role Olivia {…}
On Oct. 8, Sebastian Catana made his long-awaited Teatro Carlo Felice debut in “Pagliacci.” The debut saw the Romanian baritone perform the role of Tonio for the second time, following an acclaimed role debut at the Arena di Verona this past summer. The debut also marked the Teatro Carlo Felice’s reopening and “rebirth.” Catana, who has performed throughout Italy, spoke {…}
On Sept. 30, Opera San José will premiere a production of Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Mozart and Salieri.” The intimate work is considered a psychological thriller that explores the relationship between Mozart and Salieri and the clash between the two composers over the very nature of artistic genius. The work is based on Alexander Pushkin’s 1830 play which explores the rumor that Salieri {…}
It has been nearly two years since soprano Alexandra Flood has performed in her home country of Australia. Since the rising star launched her global career in 2014, Flood made a pledge to return home annually to both perform in Australia and share her experiences with fellow emerging artists. The former Melba Opera Trust scholar has regularly mentored young opera singers {…}
Credit: Fadil-Berisha During the past year, tenor Gaston Rivero has described the pandemic as a challenging period but a necessary break for him. It has made him think of the priorities in his life and what he wants to do with his career. During this time, he became a member of the voice teachers team of the Lotte Lehmann’s Akademie in Perleberg, {…}
(Credit: Ervin Photography) On August 20, Delos released a new recording of Bellini’s final masterpiece, “I Puritani.” The new recording featured one of today’s great Bel Canto interpreters, Lawrence Brownlee and New York City Opera’s new Music Director Constantine Orbelian. It also featured American coloratura Sarah Coburn singing the leading role of Elvira. Over the years Coburn has performed Bel {…}
(Photo: Antonio Curti) The winner of the 2021 Tulio Serafin Opera Singing Competition, Martina Licari, is due to make her role debut as Ismene in two performances of Mozart’s “Mitridate, re di Ponto” at this season’s Vicenza in Lirica, starting 28th August, running until 12th September. Having graduated from the conservatory in Palermo in 2018, the young soprano appeared to {…}
(Photo: Mary Em) Kaija Saariaho’s new opera “Innocence” premiered at this summer’s Festival d’Aix-En-Provence to widespread acclaim. “Innocence” is about a school shooting in an International school. In the role of Markéta, one of the shooter’s victims was the young Finnish singer Vilma Jää, who found herself receiving enthusiastic applause for her extraordinary performances. Jää is a marvelous singer with {…}
On July 25, Bard Summerscape is set to present the rarely performed opera by Chausson, “Le Roi Arthus.” The work is the only opera by the French composer and is considered one of the finest examples of French romanticism. For this historic production, Bard has put together a superb cast with the likes of Sasha Cooke and Matthe White as {…}
It has been 16 years since Spanish barotine Carlos Álvarez last sang at the Teatro Real de Madrid, a theater where he had success early on. Sixteen years! A long time for any artist, but particularly notable when you considered that Álvarez is a renowned Spaniard who is among the best singers in the world. The baritone has, however, continued {…}