Back in the second half of the 1700s, Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, was the talk of Paris. These days, the composer, born in the French colony of Guadeloupe to a wealthy planter and an African slave on Dec. 25, 1745, remains relatively unknown. Saint-Georges’ rise started in the military school where he was said to be among the greatest {…}
The Lithuanian National Opera has announced its 2020-21 season. Here is a look at the operas and operettas for the upcoming season. Opera Donizetti’s “Anna Bolena“ opens the season with Sesto Quatrini and Ričardas Šumila conducting. Francesca Sassu and Joana Gedmintaitė headline the cast in the title role, with Raffaella Lupinacci, Justina Gringytė, and Eglė Šidlauskaitė as Giovanna, Tadas Girininkas {…}
On July 9, 2020, the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio will stream its concert “Songs of Hope: From Our Homes to Yours.” The program will feature favorite works from such composers as Britten, Schubert, Rodgers and Hammerstein, and more. On this virtual concert, COC general director Alexander Neef stated, “Over the past few months, we’ve helped these talented young artists {…}
(Image Source: Domingo Hindoyan Official Website) The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra has announced that Domingo Hindoyan will become the organization’s Chief Conductor, effective September 2021. The Venezuelan conductor will be succeeding Vasily Petrenko, who will be named Conductor Laureate for his 15 years of service to the company. On his new appointment, Hindoyan wrote, “Since the very first time I {…}
(Credit: Gregor Hohenberg / Sony Classical) Jonas Kaufmann has confirmed that his Christmas tour is not canceled. The tenor said via social media, “The tour ‘Christmas with Jonas Kaufmann’ in December 2020 has not been canceled or postponed, as has been stated by some media outlets. Needless to say, the promoters will continue to monitor the development of the COVID-19 {…}
The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra Musicians have released a statement regarding the recent current events. The musicians noted, “The MET Orchestra Musicians are horrified by the instances of police brutality and racial injustice that have caused incredible pain for the Black community and unrest in our country. The events of recent weeks have led us to reflect on ways The Metropolitan {…}
OperaVision has announced that it will present a Summer Gala on Sunday, June 21, 2020, at 7 p.m. CET. The gala will be presented in collaboration with several opera companies including the Dutch National Opera Amsterdam, Komische Oper Berlin, Glyndebourne, Teatro Real Madrid, Opéra Comique Paris, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Royal Swedish Opera Stockholm and Polish National Opera Warsaw. Among {…}
(Credit: Jonathan Tichler / Met Opera) The Metropolitan Opera has published a statement addressing its need to do more in favor of racial equality while responding to much of the criticism that has come its way over the past few weeks. Last week, the company put out a statement in support of Black Lives and against racism. The statement, while {…}
The English Touring Opera has announced a revised autumn season. In a press release, the company said, “we are working to produce a live season of lyric theatre this Autumn, touring in October and November. This program is being designed to observe social distancing guidelines in the interest of the safety of our artists and audience. For this reason, we {…}
(Credit: Nadine Benjamin) The Téte à téte Festival has announced the program for its 2020 season “in an imaginary world.” With the cancelation of the actual festival, the company will be replacing it with a more abstract one that may or may not happen in reality. This new concept will now feature several world premieres that reflect that social milieu. {…}
The Verbier Festival has announced that it is teaming up with medici.tv and Radio Télévision Suisse to present the Virtual Verbier Festival between July 16-August 12. The festival will feature several online performances as well as the broadcasting of part events. The medici.tv program includes several major instrumentalists such as Evgeny Kissin, Martha Argerich, Joshua Bell, András Schiff, Gautier and {…}