The San Diego Opera and the SDSU School of Music have announced that Alan E. Hicks has been appointed to the position of Director of Opera Theatre. He will share the position in both organizations. He will initiate his work in the role with a production of “Flight” by Jonathan Dove at the SDSU in November 2018. Per a press {…}
The Met Opera has announced the nine new participants in its Lindemann Young Artist Program, as well as the seven that will be returning for their second year. This year’s first-time participants include tenor Mario Bahg, soprano Jessica Faselt, coach and pianist Derrick Goff, mezzo-soprano Megan Grey, soprano Leah Hawkins, tenor Brian Michael Moore, coach and pianist Katelan Terrell, tenor {…}
The Metropolitan Opera has announced that bass Matthew Rose has been appointed as the Artistic Consultant to the company’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. Rose, of course, is an acclaimed artist who has performed all around the world at such houses as the Met, the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Deutsche Oper Berlin, and English National Opera. {…}
Gundula Janowitz is a soprano who dominated a wide range of repertoire. Born on August 2, 1937, in Berlin, she would become a naturalized Austrian. She studied in her hometown of Graz and was already singing at a high level in her 20s. In 1959, she was engaged by Herbert Von Karajan to sing in “Le Nozze di Figaro,” the {…}
Tenor Hans Hopf is not one of the famed Wagnerians of the 20th century, but he certainly was one of the most reliable. Born on August 2, 1916, Hopf studied in Munich and Oslo in his formative years and made his formal stage debut in 1936 as Pinkerton in “Madama Butterfly.” Between 1939 and 1943, he would only appear with {…}
Born on August 1, 1926, Theo Adam would go on to be a major Wagnerian bass-baritone of the 20th century. Adam was born in Dresden and spent his formative years as a member of the Dresdner Kreuzchor before serving in the German Army during World War II. However, after the war ended, he resumed his musical studies and eventually made {…}
In 1507, the Caracciolo family were awarded the fiefdom of Martina Franca, and it remained in the family estate until 1827. The dukes were not always beneficent rulers, but they obviously had good taste when it came to town planning; the town is a architectural jewel. The streets are full of baroque palazzi and churches, with ornate carvings and facades. {…}
In the early hours of the morning, the bars and cafès are still open and the streets are still full of people; the days in Martin Franca have a different rhythm to them from my normal routine. Everything starts early, but at midday the streets start to empty and following lunch, it is siesta time. Nothing moves and little happens {…}
At the turn of the 18th century, Naples was an important centre for innovation and performance in the opera world. In 1706, Michelangelo Faggioli premiered his opera “La Cilla,” the first of a new form of comedy opera, sung in the Neapolitan dialect, based around a light-hearted plot, focused upon domestic and family affairs, which reflected the bourgeoise values of {…}
On August 26, 2018, Dmitri Hvorostovsky’s family and friends, together with the Krasnoyarsk Government and Rusfond (Russian Fond for Help to Sick Children), will organize a charity concert “Hvorostovsky and Friends.” The concert, which is set to be in the memory of Hvorostovsky, will be held in Peace Square near the Great Concert Hall of the Krasnoyarsk Philharmonic where the {…}
On August 8, 2018, Laura Alonso Padin will make her role debut as Cio-Cio San in Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly.” The Spanish soprano will sing the role at the Espacio Cultural San Martín Pinario in Santiago de Compostela, where she will be joined by Moises Molin, Sandra Olivas, and Pablo Atahualpa. Linus Lerner will conduct the performance which will begin at 7 {…}