American tenor Charles Castronovo and Russian soprano Ekaterina Siurina are set to appear together in three performances of Richard Jones’s production of Puccini’s “La Bohème” this January at the Royal Opera House. The pair return to The Royal Opera for the second revival of the production following a last-minute appearance as Mimì and Rodolfo during the 2017-18 season. Charles Castronovo {…}
The San Francisco Opera Center and Merola Opera Program have announced their 37th annual Schwabacher Recital Series for 2020. The performances, which are scheduled at San Francisco’s Dianne and Tad Taube Atrium Theater, will feature emerging artists from around the globe. The first concert will showcase a set of performers recently seen as part of the Merola Opera Program. Mezzo-soprano {…}
The Saratoga Performing Arts Center has announced its 2020 Classical Season. While there will be a number of chamber concerts and movie screenings, for the purposes of this article we will only announce the vocal performances. Yannick Nézet-Séguin will conduct the Philadelphia Orchestra, Albany Pro Musica and the Pro Musica International Festival Chorus in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. The concert {…}
The Italian tenor Giorgio Merighi has died at the 80 years on Jan. 12, 2020. Born on Feb. 20, 1939, the tenor studied at the Conservatorio Gioachino Rossini di Pesaro and went on to make his debut in 1962 as Riccardo in “Un ballo in Maschera” alongside Renato Bruson at the Spoleto Festival. That debut would lead him to Bilbao {…}
The Semperoper Ball has put out a statement in regards to the accusation that Yusif Eyvazov would not work with Armenian singer Ruzan Mantashyan due to political tensions. The company noted, “SemperOperaball firmly rejects accusation against Yusif Eyvazov. The organizers of SemperOperaball firmly reject the accusation that the singer Ruzan Mantashyan will not perform at the 15th SemperOperaball on Feb. {…}
(Credit: ROH/Bill Cooper) Baritone Gabriele Viviani will replace Sir Simon Keenlyside in the role of Giorgio Germont in this evening’s presentation of “La Traviata” at the Royal Opera House, according to the company’s official website. Viviani has been slated to take over the role of Giorgio Germont starting January 22, but was asked to jump in for today’s show at {…}
Opera Holland Park has announced the retirement of General Director Michael Volpe, which will take effect on Sept. 30, 2020. Volpe began working with the owners of Holland Park Theatre in 1989 and under their management founded Opera Holland Park in 1996. In 2015, he transitioned the company to its own independent charity, working together with James Clutton to transform {…}
“Lucrezia Borgia” is one of the most challenging soprano roles of the Bel Canto repertoire. It is a part that sopranos relish to sing due to the complexity of the character and the flashiness of the music. So when a new soprano takes on the part for the first time, it is always exciting to wonder how that singer will {…}
The Orchestra Now has unveiled its 2020 winter-spring season, which will include 16 concerts. For the purposes of this article, we will only focus on operatic and vocal concerts. The company’s first major vocal showcase will be “Rest in Pieces,” which will be presented by the Bard Conservatory Graduate Vocal Art Program. The event will celebrate opera, with music by {…}
Opera for Peace is set to showcase the latest concert in its series supported by Unesco, le Forum International pour la Paix, and la Déclaration Universelle des Droits de L’Humanité on Thursday Jan. 23, 2020 at Place Flagey in Brussels. The concert will feature a wide range of operatic talent, including soprano Elizaveta Ulakhovic, mezzo-soprano Marina Viotti, tenor Jesse Mimeran, {…}
(Credit: Paula Lobo) The MetLiveArts program featured “Ute Lemper: Weimar Holiday” at The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium as part of a special Holiday series. Lemper performed story-telling music by Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weil, Friedrich Hollaender, Mischa Spoliansky, Marcellus Schiffer, Shmerke Kaczerginski and Alexander Tamir. The evening highlighted an enlightening and progressive time in Germany’s music history which cultivated the awareness {…}