Tosca, Aida, Elisabetta and Liù are the roles associated with a lyric spinto soprano. They are the pinnacle of the Italian repertory and the works that every major diva wants to sing. Leah Crocetto gets to sing these great operas on a regular basis, as her profile has ballooned over the last few years. Today, she has become one of {…}
The Prague Summer Nights Festival, presented by Classical Movements, continues this weekend in Salzburg. One of the artists performing this week includes Kristine Overman, a 21-year-old soprano who is currently studying at the University of Michigan and who is singing her second major opera role. Having performed with the Michigan Opera Theater as a young child, Overman has always been {…}
The Prague Summer Nights festival, presented by Classical Movements, continues this week in Salzburg where young artists will have the chance to perform at the legendary Mozarteum. Among the young artists is Anna Kozlakiewicz, a lyric soprano who studied voice at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw and Art History at the UKSW Warszawa. She is currently studying at Indiana University, {…}
The Prague Summer Nights Festival, presented by Classical Movements, is a program with a mission to develop the next generation of opera singers and allow young artists to perform in historic venues and find a platform to begin their careers. Baritone Dominic Veilleux is new to the program this year. The baritone, who is portraying Papageno in Mozart’s “Die Zauberflöte,” {…}
Baritone John Holland is returning to the Prague Summer Nights Festival for the third with his participation this year. As an alumnus of the program, the baritone has performed numerous roles including Masetto in “Don Giovanni” at the Estates Theatre in Prague, Vodník in “Rusalka” in the Czech Republic, Belcore in “L’Elisir D’Amore,” Alberich in “Der Ring Des Nibelungen” with {…}
A few years ago, tenor Paul Appleby made headlines for a potent and powerful showcase in Stravinsky’s “The Rake’s Progress.” Little did he know that that role debut would turn out to be a major calling card in his career. He is now heading into his third major production of the opera at the Festival Aix-en-Provence and is finding the {…}
Celso Albelo possesses a glorious instrument that allows him to sing a wide range of bel canto operas with great ease. But in speaking with the tenor, it became very clear that he doesn’t take a single thing for granted. He might be able to whip up a few phrases without thinking about it or throw off the highest of {…}
From South Africa to America. Between those two countries is a vast ocean and traversing from the former to the latter presents a number of major challenges, not only physical, but emotional and economic. Opera is rife with characters battling the ocean on their way to success or tragedy. Just to name a few are the characters in Jake Heggie’s {…}
Creamy. Sweet. Intense. Warm. Thick. Bubbly. Dark. Light. Potent. Vibrant. Any one of those words could be used to describe an operatic voice. But as Matt Burns, founder of Magnum Opus Tasting Concerts (spelled officially Magnvm Opvs” to emphasize “voice” and “vine”), could tell you, they can also be used to represent wine. With his project, founded rather recently, the {…}
Opera requires a singer to perform in numerous languages. This can be daunting for anyone who does not speak any given tongue or does not have a connection to the corresponding culture. While some singers overcome this challenge by learning as much as is needed for a given piece, others feel that total immersion is the key to success. Case {…}
Maria Agresta has quickly risen to fame in the opera world. She has made debuts in all the great theaters including the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, and Royal Opera House. She has also become the go-to soprano for the Verdi repertoire singing roles in “I Due Foscari,” “Il Trovatore,” “I Masnadieri,” “La Traviata” and “Simon Boccanegra.” This month she {…}