(Credit: Dario Acosta) The Gran Teatre del Liceu has announced a cast change for its production of “La Traviata.” The company announced that George Gagnidze will take over the role of Giorgio Germont replacing Artur Ruciński, who has had to cancel due to personal reasons. Gagnidze, who is well known for his Verdi roles, has performed the role of Germont {…}
Norwegian National Opera and Ballet has announced that all performances through November have been canceled. The decision comes as a result of one of the employees testing positive for COVID, as well as the City Council’s decision to close Oslo beginning next week. Among the affected events is the company’s production of “The Barber of Seville,” currently halted until December. {…}
The Gran Teatre del Liceu has announced a cast change for its upcoming production of “La Traviata.” The company announced that Lisette Oropesa and Pretty Yende will replace Rosa Feola as Violetta. They will alternate with Kristina Mkhitaryan, who is also set to sing the role. Oropesa is well known for her interpretation of Violetta having performed it at the {…}
Ópera de Tenerife has confirmed performances of Donizetti’s “Lucrezia Borgia.” The Spanish theater announced that opera will be performed on Nov. 24, 26, and 28, 2020 after being postponed back in March due to the pandemic. The opera will be headed by Spanish soprano Yolanda Auyanet and will be a co-production with the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, la Ópera de {…}
The Royal Opera House has announced a series of live performance broadcasts featuring The Royal Ballet and The Royal Opera, throughout the November lockdown period. On Nov. 20 the company will present a concert performance of “Ariodante,” which will be available via the Royal Opera House streaming platform. The cast will include mezzo-soprano Paula Murrihy in the title role, soprano Chen Reiss as Ginevra, {…}
Indie Opera Productions has announced that singer, songwriter, and teacher Ashley Renee Watkins will be joining the company as a new co-host. Watkins, a New Orleans native, currently serves as Director of Education for Heartbeat Opera’s production of “Breathing Free – a virtual song cycle,” where she leads a team of teaching artists. Committed to teaching, Watkins has been on {…}
Maria Mot has launched a new agency called MWA Management. The agency, which is created in collaboration with Intermusica, where Mot worked until October 2020, represents such artists as Lise Davidsen, Erin Morley, Danielle De Niese, Irene Theorin, Angela Brower, and Leonardo Capalbo, among many others. Both organizations will share artists, but Mot will operate independently. “We are going through {…}
Opera Rara has announced the release of Donizetti’s “Il Paria.” The new recording is set to be released on Jan. 15 by Warner Classics and marks the 26th complete opera by Donizetti for Opera Rara. Sir Mark Elder conducts the work with a cast that includes Albina Shagimuratova, René Barbera, and Misha Kiria. “Il Paria” was recorded in the studio {…}
The Oper Koln Opera has confirmed that longtime principal conductor György Fischer has passed away on Oct. 24, 2020, at the age of 85. Born in Budapest on August 12, 1935, Fischer studied at the Franz Liszt Academy and became the assistant to Herbert von Karajan at the Wiener Staatsoper, going on to conduct operas in Koln, Munich, South America, {…}
For this week’s word search, we turn to the operas of Bellini. Instructions: You are free to solve the word search directly on your mobile or desktop device; just click the first and last letter of each word for it to appear on the screen. For those using a mobile device, we highly recommend turning it horizontal to maximize get {…}
Sonya Yoncheva will continue the Metropolitan Opera’s “Met Stars Live in Concert” series on Nov. 21, 2020. The event, which will begin at 1:00 p.m. ET, will feature the superstar live from the Baroque library of the Schussenried Cloister in Germany. The program will feature popular arias by Verdi, Puccini, Dvorak, Handel, Bizet, Purcell, and Bellini. The diva will be {…}