The Teatro alla Scala’s opening night is one of the most important evenings in the opera world. The opening is always held on December 7, which celebrates the feast of Sant’Ambrogio. It is also streamed globally, creating much buzz around the world. For this year’s celebration, the Milan theater has chosen Shostakovich’s masterwork “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk” with Sara Jakubiak {…}
Earlier this month, soprano Katharina Konradi and pianist Daniel Heide released their new album, the third volume of their complete recordings of Liszt’s art songs. Since Liszt was one of the few Central European composers of his time who had mastered the French language in addition to German, the project is exclusively devoted to vocal settings of poems in French. Konradi is the {…}
(Credit: Manfred Baumann) Soprano Sonya Yoncheva is one of the most unique modern opera stars in the world. Where most take the conventional path, the soprano tends to experiment and move in directions that are constantly surprising. She’s engaged with the baroque repertoire, the bel canto, works by Mozart, romantic repertory, and verismo with a fluidity and mastery that few {…}
(Photo: Angéline Moizard) As a young singer from New York, Ilanah Lobel-Torres never imagined that a few bars of music in a supporting role {…}
In childhood soprano Emily Michiko Jensen performed as a “super” for San Diego Opera’s production of “Madama Butterfly,” along with her sister. Now, she will star as Cio-Cio San in Opera San José’s “Madama Butterfly”, which opens on Nov. 16 and runs through the 30th. Jensen, a Japanese-American San Diego native who draws from her rich heritage as a woman {…}
The up-and-coming British soprano Jane Burnell recently made her role debut as Countess Cortese in “Il Viaggio di Reims” at the Wexford Festival Opera. OperaWire was lucky to meet up with her for a quick interview to get to know more about her. OperaWire: What was the first opera you went to see? Jane Burrell: I was about 11 years {…}
(Photo Credit: Daniel Welch) If you had to boil down the one constant connecting thread of opera, romance would likely be at the top of that list of possibilities. Simply put, what connects us to the greatest of operas is usually a great love story. Think “La Bohème,” “La Traviata,” “Le Nozze di Figaro,” “Tristan und Isolde,” “Der Rosenkavalier,” etc. {…}
{…}
(Photo: ©BenWolf) On Jan. 13, 2026, tenor Jonathan Tetelman will join guitarist and Yankees legend Bernie Williams for a special Carnegie Hall concert. The evening will blend classical, Latin, and jazz music and will feature special guests that include Mets legend José Reyes, Knicks icon Stephon Marbury, and Metropolitan Opera artists. The concert will be hosted by Emmy Award-winning journalist Darren Rovell {…}
Since he took over the job eight years ago, Steven Fox, Music Director of Cathedral Choral Society (CCS) has done his utmost to transform the organization’s direction. To that end, Fox’s initiatives have included expanding the repertory, creating programs to improve the skill set of its members, and offering up new opportunities to deepen connections with the audience. “I am {…}
(Photo credit: Daniel Welch) The 2025 edition of the Festival International de Musique Saint-Georges will celebrate the 280th anniversary of the composer’s birth by presenting its first opera. The concert version of Leoncavailo’s “Paglacci” stars tenor Limmie Pulliam as Canio, soprano Michelle Johnson as Nedda, along with tenor Leo Williams, and baritones Darnell Ishmel and Franco Pomponi. Alexis Rainbow directs {…}