Soprano Luisa Mandelli has died on 95. The soprano, who was best-known for performing Annina alongside Maria Callas at La Scala, was a constant presence in the theatre, traveling on the metro from her home in Verdi’s retirement house for musicians to La Scala. She last appeared onstage at the Milanese theatre on Sept. 14, 2017, for an evening to commemorate {…}
The San Francisco Opera is set to celebrate the opening of its 96th Season with the annual San Francisco Chronicle Presents Opera in the Park. The concert, which will be held on Sunday, Sept. 9 at 1:30 p.m, will feature many of the artists set to appear throughout the season including Lianna Haroutounian, Ekaterina Semenchuk, Marco Berti, Dimitri Platanias, and {…}
Of all the questions I asked Jeanne Pansard-Besson, who was deep in final rehearsals for a “Don Giovanni” at the New Generation Festival in Florence, there was one I was especially interested in hearing her answer to – In this age of on-demand everything (streaming, smart phones, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and what many people consider the very shrinking short–attention {…}
Debussy’s “Pelléas et Mélisande” is one of opera’s greatest works and on Friday night, the Teatro Colón, in a production by Susanna Gómez (continuing the work of its original director, the late Gustavo Tambascio), reminded everyone why. The French work is often mentioned in the same breath as Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde,” undeniably because the composer was, at that time, {…}
I had never gone to the Berkshire Opera Festival. It had a strong reputation, built over a few seasons. And so, on my first visit to see its “Rigoletto,” I expected to enjoy it. Classics like “Rigoletto” — even when not every element is perfect, still, somehow are able to work. And what happened instead is that I was blown {…}
Richard Tucker is one of the greatest tenors in history. Born on August 28, 1931, a great part of his career took place at the Metropolitan Opera. He not only made impact for his incredible vocal abilities, but continues to impact the opera world to this day throughout his Richard Tucker Foundation. In honor of the famed tenor, here is {…}
Laura Alonso Padín is set to make her role debut as Leonora in Verdi’s “Il Trovatore.” The soprano will sing a concert version of the famous romantic opera at the Auditorio de Galicia on Sept. 14, 2018, alongside Sandra Olivas as Azucena, Alejandro Mariani as Manrico, Nikola Mijailovic as the Conte di Luna, Pablo Atahualpa as Ferrando and Lola Calzada as Inés. Conductor Michael {…}
The Gramophone Awards have been announced and the top Opera recording for 2018 goes to Erato’s release of Berlioz’s “Les Troyens.” The recording is led by John Nelson, one of the great Berlioz conductors of the 20th and 21st century. His cast includes Michael Spyres, Marie-Nicole Lemieux, and Joyce DiDonato. Contralto Delphine Galou’s album “Agitata” took home the best recital {…}
Ramón Vinay is one of the greatest dramatic tenors to ever live. Born on August 31, 1911 in Chile, the tenor would actually kickstart his career as a baritone in Mexico in 1938. His tenor debut came in 1943 and he would go on to perform all around the world at such houses as the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, {…}
Let’s run around the world, or more specifically, let’s run off to South America and Europe for five performances that are simply unmissable! Pelléas et Mélisande – Teatro Colón, Argentina Debussy’s only opera gets a new production in Buenos Aires by Susana Gómez. Italian tenor Giuseppe Filianoti returns to the opera stage in the title role alongside Verónica Cangemi and David Maze. Enrique {…}
Amilcare Ponchielli, born on August 31, 1834, was a compositional child prodigy. He was born in Paderno Fasolaro and was admitted to the Milan Conservatory at age nine on a scholarship he earned. By the age of 10 he already written his first symphony and a few years after leaving the conservatory, he wrote his first opera. His second work, {…}