On Sunday, Mar. 31, 2019, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center presented “Seven Last Words” at Alice Tully Hall, featuring bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green, who has graced the stages of the Metropolitan Opera and Vienna State Opera, along with the Orion String Quartet. The Chamber Music Society aims to share great chamber music with audiences across the globe, performing {…}
Roberto Alagna has canceled opening night of Bizet’s “Carmen” at the Opéra de Paris. The company announced that due to health reasons, the tenor was forced to cancel the opening performance on April 11. As a result, Jean-François Borras will perform the role of Don José. Borras is set to join Anita Rachvelishvili, who sings the title role, Nicole Car, and Roberto Tagliavini. {…}
Opera, Song and Music Theater is quivering, twisting, and turning. Could it be that we are in an renaissance? There is a new blood pulsing through its veins. Opera and theater makers are pulling at its heart, resuscitating our interest and taking us to diverse locations with as yet unclassifiable languages and forms. The Xen of Opera looks at the {…}
Twice on Saturday night at the opening of Pacific Opera Project’s “Madam Butterfly” at the Aratani Theatre in LA’s Little Tokyo I thought, “This could be the start of something big.” “Thought One” related to the production; “Thought Two” to a singer. But first, let’s discuss the elephant in the room. Cultural Appropriation? Puccini’s “Madam Butterfly” has excited controversy over {…}
Tenor Luigi Alva is one of the great Rossini and Mozart interpreters of the mid 20th century. Born in Peru on April 10, 1927, Alva served in the Peruvian Navy before focusing on singing. His opera debut came in 1949 in Lima and in 1953, he headed to Milan where he would make his debut in 1954 at the Teatro {…}
The Oratorio Society will conclude its 2018-19 Carnegie Hall season with Verdi’s Requiem. The OSNY Music Director Kent Tritle is set to lead the performance with Elizabeth de Trejo, Raehann Bryce-Davis, Joshua Blue, and Adam Lau. The performance will mark De Trejo’s OSNY debut and her second collaboration with Kent Tritle, who worked with her at the Great Mountains Music {…}
(Credit: Sven Helge Czichy) The Staatstheater Wiesbaden has announced its 2019-20 season, featuring seven new productions and a number of stars. Here is a look at what the season will offer. New Production Patrick Lange conducts a new production of Bizet’s “Carmen” by Uwe Eric Laufenberg. Lena Belkina stars in the title role with tenors Sebastien Gueze, Aaron Cawley, and {…}
The Santa Fe Opera 2019 Season features five operas, including the World Premiere of “The Thirteenth Child” by Poul Ruders and libretto by Becky and David Starobin. The production opens on July 27 and has five performances through August 21. A recent Works & Process event at the Guggenheim explored the creative process through a panel discussion with the creative {…}
Ian Page and The Mozartists are set to return to Wigmore Hall and make their debut at Lichfield Festival with a program exploring Mozart’s travels across Europe. The concert performances will be comprised of a mixture of concertos, symphonies and arias composed in London, The Hague, Paris, Munich, Vienna, Prague and Rome. Soprano Louise Alder will perform three arias, including {…}
As part of her senior-year project, soprano Jayden Goldberg, who plans to pursue vocal studies at Boston Conservatory, raised funds to provide 4,000 student tickets to high school students attending Fort Worth Title I schools. “Everyone deserves a chance to experience the story of human drama as told through the beauty, artistry, and passion of a live opera,” says Goldberg. Fort Worth Opera will {…}
The trailer for Ron Howard’s upcoming “Pavarotti” film has been unveiled. The two-minute trailer kicks off with the tenor himself providing some background on his beginnings and paying it all off with a nice joke. Throughout the trailer, you hear reactions and interviews from a number of different people, including Plácido Domingo, Joseph Volpe, Jose Carreras, Angela Gheorghiu, and others. {…}