Marina Rebeka will make her role debut as “Maria Stuarda” is Donizetti’s beloved opera. The Latvian soprano will begin the new year with the tour de force role at Riga’s Great Guild Hall on Jan. 10. The performance will also be streamed on Latvian radio for audiences to listen to around the world. The Jan. 12 performance will take place {…}
This review is for the performance on Monday Jan. 10, 2017. Rossini’s “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” is one of the most famous works in the operatic repertoire as well as one of the funniest. It contains some of the most memorable melodies and space for singers to fool around and provide vocal fireworks. In recent years, the Metropolitan Opera has {…}
Kazakhstan will play host to the 25th Operalia Competition in July 2017. The famed competition will be making its return to Eastern Europe after making an appearance there in 2011 at Moscow. It also took place in Pécs and Budapest in 2009. Otherwise the competition has mainly done rounds in Western Europe, North America and Asia (Tokyo and Beijing). Last {…}
Sonya Yoncheva has cancelled all performances for the month of January. The Bulgarian soprano was slated to perform the role of Massenet’s “Manon” at the Monte Carlo Opera, but has pulled out citing severe back pain. The company is now tasked with finding a quick replacement as the production kicks off on Jan. 20 and runs through the 27th. The {…}
Waltraud Meier is recognized as one of the world’s greatest Wagnerians as she has performed most of the great soprano and mezzo roles from the composer. For 20 years she was the Isolde of choice for most houses and she also succeeded as Kundry in “Parsifal.” However, most will forget that the singer accomplished great acclaim in the types of {…}
It is always a challenge to make a role debut in a season, particularly when it features some of the most challenging repertoire in the operatic repertoire. It is an even greater risk and challenge to make three in one season. But don’t tell Davinia Rodriguez as the soprano has spent this season doing just that and succeeding all the {…}
Caramoor has announced its 2017 summer festival program. The festival, which comprises seven summer weeks of opera, orchestral, chamber, jazz, world and American roots music, family programs, young artist showcases, and sound artwork, will celebrate its 20th anniversary of Bel Canto at Caramoor with five summer operatic offerings The program will include two offering with 2017’s Artist in-Residence Angela Meade. Meade will headline Caramoor’s opening-night opera gala with tenor Santiago {…}
Rudolf Bing’s name towers in the world of opera. The Austrian-born impresario, born on January 9, 1902, has an enduring legacy, in many ways tainted by the scandals and feuds Bing was known to have with the opera’s greatest figures and lesser-known figures during many of the company’s most tumultuous years. But to see the general manager who wielded his {…}
Running a family business is a tricky proposition. Running an opera company might be even harder. Combining the two into one requires some form of genius. That has been the accomplishment of Michael Spierman, who set out on a dream alongside other colleagues to salvage operatic culture in the Bronx. The fruit of that dream, the Bronx Opera flourished and {…}
Henry Purcell’s “King Arthur” arrives at the Berlin Staatsoper on Sunday Jan. 15 in a run that has already reportedly sold out. According to the official website of the Staatsoper, all five runs of the production have no remaining tickets for those interested in witnessing the performance. The opera, written by librettist John Dryden, is rather unique in its construction. {…}
On Friday, Jan. 13, international audiences will get a chance to check out some of the world’s greatest singers perform Bellini’s “La Sonnambula” live from the Vienna State Opera as part of the company’s live stream offerings. The performance, which kicks off at 7:30 p.m. local time (that’s 1:30 p.m. for people on the East Coast in the U.S. and {…}