Updates on Opera Companies & Orchestras Throughout U.S. & North America Canceled Due to Coronavirus Outbreak

***We will update this article as more cancellations are announced. A number of orchestras and opera houses have announced cancellations due to the coronavirus. The Boston Symphony Orchestra announced that it was canceling all performances at Symphony Hall from Friday, March 13 through Saturday, March 28. Meanwhile, the Nashville Opera announced the cancellation of performances of its children’s opera, scheduled {…}

May 17, 2020

Word Search: Complete the Names of these Famed Interpreters of ‘Tristan und Isolde’

With Richard Wagner’s birthday right around the corner on May 22, we turn to the subject of arguably his greatest opera “Tristan und Isolde.” For this word search, you goal is to complete the name of these noted interpreters of “Tristan und Isolde,” specifically the sopranos who have dominated the role of Isolde. Instructions: You are free to solve the {…}

May 17, 2020

Obituary: Belarusian Conductor and Arranger Walter Mnatsakanov

Belarusian conductor Walter Mnatsakanov has passed away at the age of 85. Mnatsakanov was a prolific conductor and influential teacher in Minsk who went on to make a number of recordings with Naxos Records as a conductor and an arranger. AMong his credits as an arranger include Arensky’s opera “Raphael,” Dmitri Hvorostovsky’s “Baritone Arias” album, and an album of orchestral {…}

May 17, 2020

Obituary: Swedish Designer and Director Mathias Clason Dies at 56

Swedish designer, director, and librettist Mathias Clason has passed away after a long battle with an undisclosed illness. Born in Stockholm on July 30, 1963, Clason began his career in the arts at the age of 20, designing costumes before going on to stage design. Over the next 37 years, Clason went on to work on over 100 opera, ballet, {…}

May 16, 2020

Opéra de Lyon Announces Changes to 2020-21 Season

The Opéra de Lyon has announced changes to its 2020-21 season. The company, which had originally announced a new production of “Le Coq d’or” by Rimsky-Korsakov directed by Barrie Kosky, will be postponed until May of 2021. The production was originally scheduled to open the Festival Aix-En-Provence and would be brought to Lyon in October. However, plans were changed when {…}

May 16, 2020

Rossini Opera Festival Announces New 2020 Program Including Olga Peretyatko & Juan Diego Flórez

The Rossini Opera Festival has announced it will take place from August 8 to August 20 with a readjusted program. The festival announced that it will still stage a new production of “La cambiale di matrimonio” at the Teatro Rossini on August 8, 11, 13, 17, and 20. To ensure social distancing the orchestra will be located in the stalls {…}

May 16, 2020

Obituary: Tenor Angelo Loforese Dies at 100

Tenor Angelo Loforese has died at the age of 100. Born on March 27, 1920 in Milan, Italy, Loforese began studying music at the age of 18 but his studies were put on hold during the war in 1943, when he was forced to move to Switzerland. After the war, he returned to Italy where he began studying with tenor {…}

May 16, 2020

In Series to Present ‘Stormy Weather’ & Online Recital

The In Series has announced its next slew of online streaming options. First up is the company’s recent production of “Stormy Weather.” The opera is based on Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” but retold through the perspective of Sycorax, the mother of Caliban and mistress of Arial. The opera features music by Billie Holiday and poetic-prose written by Sybil Williams. Michelle Rogers {…}

May 16, 2020

Eurasia Festival To Celebrate Tchaikovsky with Virtual Summer Opera Institute

Celebrating the 180th anniversary of Tchaikovsky’s birth, the Eurasia Festival will be launching its Summer Opera Institute. This Zoom-based workshop series will allow singers from around to world to study roles from some of the famous Russian composer’s operas through group diction classes, individual coaching sessions, and more. Interested artists are asked to submit a form of interest in lieu {…}

May 16, 2020

Sondra Radvanovsky, Elsa Dreisig, Ludovic Tézier Join Opera for Peace

Opera for Peace has announced that several of opera’s greatest stars are joining the organization as ambassadors and advisors. Tenor René Barbera and sopranos Elsa Dreisig and Joyce El-Khoury have become the organization’s newest ambassadors. Meanwhile, conductor Fabio Luisi, soprano Sondra Radvanovsky, and baritone Ludovic Tézier have signed on as Advisors; they join baritone Thomas Hampson and soprano Sumi Jo, who {…}

May 16, 2020

Metropolitan Opera’s 2020-21 New Productions Possibly ‘Jeopardized’

(Image Source: Metopera.org) The Metropolitan Opera’s 2020-21 season may not include new productions. Per a report by ABC News, all previously scheduled technical rehearsals in the summer for new productions have been canceled, putting all of them into jeopardy. The new productions planned for 2020-21 include “Aida,” “The Fiery Angel,” “Die Zauberflöte,” Don Giovanni” and “Dead Man Walking.” “Social distancing {…}