“Opera Meets Film” is a feature dedicated to exploring the way that opera has been employed in cinema. We will select a section or a film in its entirety, highlighting the impact that utilizing the operatic form or sections from an opera can alter our perception of a film that we are viewing. This week’s installment features Robert Bresson’s masterpiece {…}
(Credit: Victor Santiago) The Teatro Antica di Taormina has announced its 2020 festival featuring cinema, art, music, and ballet. For this article, we will only focus on the Italian festival’s operatic offerings. In celebration of Beethoven’s 250th anniversary, Diego Matheuz conducts Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Maria Pia Piscitelli, Laura Verrecchia, Antonio Poli, and Carlo Cigni. Performance Date: July 24, {…}
Dell’Arte Opera Ensemble has announced that it will be providing watch parties for several online opera productions starting in August. The company will kick off its watch parties with a presentation of Salieri’s “La Cifra” from a 2018 production directed by Bea Goodwin. Streaming Date: August 8, 2020 Next up will be a production of “Le Nozze di Figaro” from {…}
The Boston Lyric Opera’s “At Its (s)Core” podcast series will feature company Music Director David Angus in a discussion with 2019 Pulitzer-Prize winning composer Ellen Reid during its next episode. The episode, which will broadcast July 23, 2020, will be on the topic of Maurice Ravel’s “Daphnis et Chloe.” Angus and Reid will also discuss the impact they feel the {…}
The Belcanto opera Festival in Germany has announced a minimized event called “Rossini in Wildbad” set for Sept. 9-13. The program will kick off with a Rossini concert with fellows of the Belcanto Academy. Performance Date: Sept. 9, 2020 Soprano Silvia Della Benetta will then give a concert alongside pianist Reto Müller. They will perform music from such operas as {…}
Pentatone has announced that it will be releasing the debut recording of Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek’s “Proving Up.” The release, which is set for August 21, 2020, will feature the original cast recording from Opera Omaha. Those cast members include Michael Slatter, John Moore, Talise Trevigne, Abigail Nims, Cree Carrico, and Andrew Harris. The opera was co-commissioned by the {…}
As companies explore new forms of presenting opera digitally, Victorian Opera has adapted an interactive opera book for babies and toddlers, titled “Baby Bilby Sings.” The book follows the titular animal as he travels to different countries and meets with operatic characters throughout his journey. “Baby Bilby Sings” will draw from works such as “The Barber of Seville” and “Lakme,” {…}
Jonas Kaufmann has announced his upcoming album “Selige Stunde.” The new album with pianist Helmut Deutsch will be released on September 4 and will feature a highly personal selection of lieder by Schubert, Brahms, Strauss, Mahler, and other masters. Kaufmann recorded the album with Deutsch during the coronavirus lockdown in Germany. The new album will mark the tenor’s eleventh recording {…}
Anthony Davis’ “Amistad” didn’t have the greatest of premieres. The opera, which first appeared at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 1997, received middling reviews. The opera, which featured a libretto by Thulani Davis, then underwent a major revision and was then presented at the Spoleto Festival USA in 2008. Of this newer version, Opera Today noted that the work {…}
Pittsburgh Opera has announced that it will be launching a free, weekly web series called “Pull Back the Curtain.” Hosted by Manager of Artistic Operations Rob Boldin, the series will feature special guests from the opera community as they discuss their experience in the industry and the process behind staging an opera. The series will premiere on July 23, 2020, {…}
(Image provided by Time In Kids) Soprano Angel Blue will be presenting an online workshop for New York City public high school students in collaboration with Time In Children’s Arts Initiative. The program will be presented within the framework of “Summer in the City,” a coalition of arts and culture organizations to provide learning opportunities for students throughout the summer. {…}