Q & A: Gianandrea Noseda & Nicole Heaston on Performing Barber’s ‘Vanessa’ With the National Symphony Orchestra & Aspects of Live Recordings

(Photo credit: Tony Hitchcock) Despite winning a Pulitzer Prize and receiving great acclaim following its Metropolitan Opera premiere in 1958, Barber and Menotti’s “Vanessa” is not regularly programmed as a full work. Arias such as “Must the winter come so soon?” and “Do not utter a word” are frequently heard in recitals, but this does not do justice to this {…}

Jan 21, 2025

In Less Than Five Minutes, Get To Know – Tenor Jorge Navarro Colorado

(Photo: Alciro Theodoro Da Silva) At the end of February, start of March this year, the Badisches Staatstheater, Karlsruhe is presenting a Händel festival, which includes productions of “Rinaldo,” and “Siroe, Re di Persia,” among many other events. During a recent performance of “Il Ritorno di Ulisse in Patria” in Ravenna, OperaWire met up with Spanish tenor Jorge Navarro Colorado, {…}

Jan 17, 2025

In Less Than Five Minutes, Get to Know American Soprano Jacquelyn Stucker

(Photo: Dario Acosta) In March, American soprano Jacquelyn Stucker will be performing in Philip Venables’ “We are the Lucky Ones” at Amsterdam’s Opera Forward Festival. OperaWire will be interviewing her about the production during the festival, but as a taster, she kindly agreed to answer a few questions about herself. OperaWire: How old were you when you saw your first {…}

Jan 6, 2025

Q & A: Soprano Chiara Isotton on Her Debut at the Royal Opera House & Performing the Role of Tosca

(Photo: Michele Monasta) Italian Soprano Chiara Isotton is a graduate of the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory in Venice, and is a member of the La Scala Academy, Milan. She won several important national and international competitions, including being among the winners of the “European Community” Competition for Young Opera Singers by the Teatro Lirico Sperimentale di Spoleto in 2013 where she {…}

Dec 30, 2024

Q & A: Soprano Charlotte Bowden On Her Performances In Works By Monteverdi & Purcell

OperaWire met up with English soprano Charlotte Bowden between performances of Monteverdi’s “Il Ritorno di Ulisse in Patria” and a double Purcell bill of “Hail! Bright St. Cecilia” and “Dido and Aeneas” at the Ravenna festival, in which she was essaying the roles of Melanto, a solo soprano and Belinda, respectively. Although she only recently graduated from the Royal College {…}

Dec 13, 2024

Q & A: American Soprano Jane Marsh on Her Career & How to Magnetize What You Want in Your Own Career

When Jane Marsh made her Italian and European début at the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy singing the demanding part of Desdemona in Giuseppe Verdi’s “Otello,” she was just past her teens. She had been recommended to Thomas Schippers by the Metropolitan Opera as he was looking for a soprano to sing the role for the opening of {…}

Dec 12, 2024

Q & A: SeokJong Baek On His Favorite Roles & How His Faith & Voice Transitioned His Opera Career

(Photo: Dahyun Baek) SeokJong Baek’s rise to prominence in the opera world can only be described as meteoric, if not almost difficult to believe. Almost 15 years singing as a baritone, a chance encounter with fellow South Korean tenor Yonghoon Lee suggested to him that he might make a better tenor than a baritone. Despite joining the San Francisco Young {…}

Nov 30, 2024

Q & A: Francesco Meli Addresses Il Giornale Comments & How to Perform Verdi’s ‘Otello’ in a Modern Context

(Credit: Victor Santiago) This past week, Francesco Meli made his role debut as “Otello” in Verdi’s masterpiece. It marked his 18th Verdi role and a return to the Venice house where has sung many of those Verdi works. But in the run-up to the premiere of the opera, Meli’s comments in an interview with Il Giornale became the center of {…}

Nov 23, 2024

Q & A: Étienne Dupuis  On His Opera Career & How He Envisions His Future

(Credit: Yan-Bleney) Born in Montreal, Étienne Dupuis has established himself as one of the most distinguished baritones of his generation. Amongst his wide-ranging repertoire, he is especially in demand for Verdi roles. In the 2023-24 season, Étienne made a series of role debuts: as Don Carlo di Vargas in “La forza del destino” at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, {…}

Nov 14, 2024

Q & A: Rachel Fenlon on Her Debut Album ‘Winterreise’ & Accompanying Herself

(Credit: © Clara Evens) On Oct. 11, Rachel Fenlon made history with her debut album on Orchid Classics, becoming the first ever to sing and accompany herself in Schubert’s masterpiece “Winterreise” on recording. Fenlon has self-accompanied herself at prestigious festivals and venues such as Fundación Juan March, the Oxford Lieder Festival, Festival de Lanaudière, Martha Argerich Festival Hamburg, Ottawa Chamberfest, National {…}

Oct 24, 2024

Q & A: Ekaterina Bakanova on ‘Manon’ and Her Favorite Roles to Perform

(Photo credit: Enrico De Luigi) Soprano Ekaterina Bakanova is a Russian born opera and oratorio singer. Italian by adoption, she famously made her Royal Opera House debut in “La Traviata,” with just a few hours notice, after Sonya Yoncheva became ill in 2015. She has since performed in many of the renowned opera houses in the world. She is the {…}

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