Did you know that Gregory Kunde is the only tenor in the history of opera to sing both Verdi and Rossini’s “Otello” within a two-week span? In fact, only one other tenor, Roberto Stagno, sang both roles, but it took him 10 years to complete the feat. But that is ultimately what makes Kunde such a special artist. At one {…}
“It’s like having a crime and then trying to justify it and find why it was committed.” That is how soprano Marina Rebeka, currently making her role debut as Donna Elvira at the Metropolitan Opera, approaches every single opera role or artistic endeavor she takes on. The soprano recently spoke with OperaWire regarding her upcoming projects, putting a spotlight on {…}
Almost 10 years ago, pianist Peter Dugan and baritone John Brancy met up at the Julliard School’s library, picked out some music and snuck into a dance studio to try out a few songs together. Little did they know that those sessions would be the beginning of an essential artistic collaboration. Fast forward 10 years and the duo is in {…}
Every opera singer has a dream of performing at the Metropolitan Opera in a leading role. The dream takes a lot of work and hours of rehearsing, practicing, auditioning and, in many ways, luck. But it also takes years of building an international career. For Amber Wagner 2017 marks her first big contract with the theater after making her debut {…}
It was March 31, 2017, one day before the infamous day where people play tricks on one another. Soprano Jennifer Rowley was getting some shuteye, her days consumed by the task of taking on Samuel Barber’s “Vanessa” at the Toledo opera. On that very night, she would be singing the first of two performances for the demanding work. The phone {…}
Anne Schwanewilms is no stranger to the opera world. She is one of the most in-demand sopranos in the lieder repertoire and she has specialized in the challenging work of Richard Strauss, performing in every major theater around the world. However, she has rarely appeared in the United States and since her debut at the Bayreuth, she has not returned. {…}
Russian-born Natasha Novitskaia is a mezzo-soprano who has excelled in such roles such as Dalila, Santuzza, Amneris, Azucena, Lyubasha among others. From an early age, Novitskaia received early training in singing and classical piano and obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance at the Marylhurst University and a Master’s degree in Russian Literature from St. Petersburg University. Although she began {…}
Krassimira Stoyanova is not your typical diva. Nor has she managed to carve out a career with the “expected” working conditions for most singers of her caliber. Since her debut at the Sofia National Opera House in 1995, the Bulgarian soprano has become a famed interpreter of the Italian operatic repertoire, singing at all the greatest theaters in the world. Her {…}
During a conversation with OperaWire regarding her upcoming performances of “Madama Butterfly” at the Royal Opera House, soprano Ana María Martinez related a story regarding her deep connection with the work. She narrated how during her first production of the opera at the Houston Grand Opera in 2010, her son was around the same age as the title character’s child {…}
When she was a young girl, mezzo-soprano Annalisa Stroppa would come home from school to a healthy diet of “The Three Tenors” and Mario del Monaco. Her grandparents idolized these artists and quickly impregnated their granddaughter with an unshakeable passion for opera. “That’s when I discovered I had a special voice and from then on, there was no one stopping {…}
Most opera singers can’t wait to rush in and sing their dream roles. In fact, in today’s world, with the high demand for singers to mature at an earlier age, a lot of young singers start young and end young, the pressure simply too great to sustain a lasting and healthy career. Iwona Sobotka was privy to this scenario early {…}