Photo Credit: Marius Baragan Angela Gheorghiu has announced that her upcoming Chinese tour has been postponed. The soprano stated, via social media, that due to the critical nature of the Coronavirus outbreak and its threatening development, together with the Chinese promoters and her management she was required to cancel 5 of her concerts in China. The affected performances were scheduled {…}
(Credit: Timothy White for Decca) Wearing a shiny taupe gown that reflected minimized images of the lights above, soprano Renée Fleming and pianist Gerald Martin Moore entered to applause that showed they have fans in this desert city. They opened with a Valentine befitting February 14th: George Frideric Handel’s enticing “Bel Piacere è Godere.” Fleming followed its fast, tricky coloratura {…}
Bayreuth Baroque has announced its 2020 program, which will focus mainly on the works from the period of the late Baroque that have never or hardly been performed. For the purpose of this article we will focus only on vocal works. The new production of Drama Per Musica “Carlo il Calvo” by Nicola Antonio Porpora will feature Julia Lezhneva, Max {…}
(Credit: Osterfestpiele Salzburg/© Matthias Creutziger) The Semperoper Dresden has awarded Mezzosoprano Christa Mayer the honorary title of Kammersängerin des Freistaates Sachsen. The decision for the award was made by the Minister of State for Culture and Tourism at the suggestion of the Managing Director of the Sächsischen Semperoper Dresden. The Honorary Award of the Kammersänger was last presented in 2015 {…}
(Credit: Richard Termine / Metropolitan Opera) On Feb. 15, 2020, the Metropolitan Opera raised the curtain on this season’s run of Mozart’s “Così Fan Tutte.” Phelim McDermott’s dazzling Coney Island production added a large amount of spectacle to what is the least staged of the operas born from the partnership of Mozart and Da Ponte. The afternoon saw a solid {…}
Opera Colorado has announced its 2020-21 season featuring three productions and a number of international stars. Paul Moravec and Mark Campbell’s “The Shining” opens the season in a production by Eric Simonson. Edward Parks, Kelly Kaduce, Arthur Woodley, Vale Rideout, Joseph Gaines, and Troy Cook lead the cast with Ari Pelto conducting. Performance Dates: Nov. 7-15, 2020 Mascagni’s “Cavalleria Rusticana” {…}
(Credit: Lorenzo Poli) Soprano Genia Kühmeier has withdrawn from the upcoming new production of Mozart and Da Ponte’s “Così fan tutte” at the Wiener Staatsoper due to the personal reasons, according to an official statement on the company’s website. As a result, soprano Mariangela Sicilia will perform the role of Fiordiligi in what will be her Wiener Staatsoper debut. Sicilia {…}
The Pacific Opera Project has announced that it will be changing its forthcoming production of “Così fan tutte” after much controversy. The 2012 production, which is set in the context of the 1939 film “Gone With the Wind” was lambasted by many as insensitive due the film’s own racist themes. As such, the company has seemingly taken the criticism to {…}
Javier Camarena made history on Feb. 16, 2020 encoring in “La Fille du Régiment” after receiving a standing ovation. During the semi-staged performance at the Bella Artes in Mexico of Donizetti’s comic masterpiece, Camarena once again encored the aria “Ah! Mes amis,” making it his first encore in Mexico, his native country. Camarena was celebrating his 15th anniversary on stage {…}
The Pittsburgh Festival Opera has unveiled its 2020 season which will include several operas, concerts, a poetry reading, and lectures. It all kicks off with the Gather of the Goddesses Gala Concert at the Playhouse at Pont Park University. The concert will feature Marianne Cornetti, Alexandra Loutsion, and Christine Goerke. Performance Date: June 20, 2020 “Pagliacci” will take the stage {…}
(Photo Credit: Wiener Staatsoper/Giampaolo Maria Bisanti) Conductor Andrea Battistoni has withdrawn from the production of Puccini, Giacosa and Illica’s “Tosca” at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich due to illness. As a result, Giampaolo Bisanti will conduct in his stead for performances on Feb. 17 & 20, 2020. Bisanti will lead the cast that includes Anja Harteros in the title role, {…}