Two years ago, Benjamin Bernheim was a young artist performing light tenor roles and preparing to make the jump to some of the most important lyric operas in the repertory. He was an unknown and was still a member of the Opernhaus Zurich. But he had a perspective of where he wanted to be. “I knew I wanted to sing {…}
(Photo Credit: Askonas Holt Management) After making a strong first impression with his debut in a new production of Prokofiev’s “Betrothal in a Monastery” at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin and looking forward to his Met Opera debut in October for the 2019-20 season in the role of Schaunard in Puccini’s “La Bohème,” Andrey Zhilikhovsky returns to Glyndebourne for the {…}
Baritone Peter Schöne has enjoyed a solid international opera career at over 20 opera houses around the world, including the Komische Oper Berlin where he made his debut in “Greek” back in 2002. And now he will add to his list of operatic exploits when he performs his first opera in the UK this June in “The Hunting Gun.” The {…}
Once a singer stops performing, he or she may often move into teaching or directing. Some singers add either to their schedules as a contrast to their stage performances, though this often represents a decline in being the star attraction onstage. But Alek Shrader is doing it all at the same time while still very much in his vocal prime. {…}
For many artists, Verdi’s operas are the supreme pinnacle that they work towards. Getting there and being one of the foremost interpreters of his work often requires tremendous technique skill, but also great artistic maturity. For tenor Enea Scala, Verdi has always been a dream from the start of his career. While he has focused on the Bel Canto repertoire for {…}
Barbara Hannigan doesn’t like being called a genius. “I work hard,” she always retorts. And that’s true. To catch Barbara Hannigan for an interview is very tricky. At the time of this interview, the soprano has just finished her work in Copenhagen, where she performed as a conductor alongside the young artists from her Equilibrium project, and also sang Abrahamsen’s {…}
Laura Kaminsky, Kimberly Reed, and Mark Campbell’s “As One” is set for a major run in New York this weekend. Among the performers in the two casts will be baritone Michael Kelly, who will perform the role of Hannah Before. Kelly is an avid performer of contemporary works, having performed in world premieres by Matthew Aucoin, David Del Tredici, Mohammed {…}
Hui He is one of today’s leading lirico spinto sopranos in the world performing every major Verdi and Puccini role. Since her debut in “Aida” in Shanghai in 1998, she has become one of the leading interpreters of such operas as “Tosca,” “Madam Butterfly,” ‘Turandot,” “Il Trovatore,” and “La Forza del Destino.” She has also performed in every major theater, including {…}
Every singer’s path is laden with expectations. Often, these are not established by the artist themselves, but by the world around them. Karen Slack knows all about having to manage those expectations. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 2005 and was singing the major Verdi roles at the start of her career. But the soprano in a recent interview {…}
Opera, Song and Music Theater is quivering, twisting, and turning. Could it be that we are in an renaissance? There is a new blood pulsing through its veins. Opera and theater makers are pulling at its heart, resuscitating our interest and taking us to diverse locations with as yet unclassifiable languages and forms. The Xen of Opera looks at the {…}
New York’s City Lyric Opera recently staged a gritty production of Peter Brook’s adaptation of Bizet’s “Carmen,” “La Tragédie de Carmen.” The opera, an 80-minute chamber piece, retains the musical highlights of Bizet’s original, and brings into sharp focus the tragic stories of the four principal characters: Micaëla, Don José, Carmen, and Escamillo as they collide with one another and {…}