Usedomer Musik Festival 2018 Review – Jakub Jósef Orliński Gives a Bravura Baroque Recital Minus Bboy Boomerangs

The remote Baltic coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern might seem a strange place for a Music Festival, but for 25 years the island of Usedom has been hosting artists of international repute. Skeptical foreign visitors expecting bleak windswept dunes with a few forlorn fishermen’s shanties shrouded in eau de poisson will be in for a big surprise. Usedom’s popularity reached its apogee during {…}

Apr 24, 2018

Kirker Music Festival on Lake Como 2018 Review: Benjamin Appl Sings a Celestial Liederabend in Arcadian Italy.

Lago di Como is said to be the most beautiful place in Italy, which is a very big call indeed. Since Pliny the Younger, Lake Como has attracted discerning aristocrats, poets, politicians and potentates, artists and arrivistes, cultivated voyageurs and celebrity votaries. Stendhal and Mark Twain, George IV’s unwelcome wife Queen Caroline, Sir Winston Churchill, Gianni Versace, numerous Rockefellers, Richard {…}

Apr 24, 2018

Manhattan School of Music 2017-18 Review – La Cenerentola: A Solid Production Featuring Aspiring Talent Through & Through

After a delightful performance of Isouard’s “Cendrillon” during their fall 2017 season, Manhattan School of Music (MSM) showcased another version of the beloved story of Cinderella this weekend, with Rossini’s “La Cenerentola. ” While still celebrating the success of “The Barber of Seville” and not yet 25-years-old, Gioacchino Rossini met Jacopo Ferretti and together they decided to create “La Cenerentola, Ossia La {…}

Apr 24, 2018

Opera Omaha 2017-18 Review – Proving Up: Mazzoli and Vavrek Masterfully Explore Migration Hardship in the Heartland

Is there a better way to spend an opera festival in Nebraska than to see an opera set in Nebraska? My weekend at the inaugural ONE Festival presented by Opera Omaha was highlighted by seeing the brand-new “Proving Up” by the dynamic duo of Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek on two occasions. The opera is based on the short {…}

Apr 24, 2018

Lawrence Brownlee, Olga Peretyako & Serena Farnocchia Headline Opera Royal De Wallonie’s 2018-19 Season

The Opera Royal del Wallonie-Liege has announced its 2018-19 season featuring five new productions and nine showcases in total. The season contains a number of rarely performed works in addition to repertoire staples featuring many prominent and rising stars. Here is a look. Productions Stefano Vizioli directs Verdi’s “Il Trovatore” with Fabio Sartori in the title role and Violetta Urmana as {…}

Apr 24, 2018

UPDATE – Sources: Anna Netrebko & Jonas Kaufmann ‘Turandot’ Reunion in Salzburg Is Mere Speculation

UPDATE: Per our sources, the speculated production is just a rumor and it is the wrong information. Following is the article in its original form. Anna Netrebko and Jonas Kaufmann are set to perform Puccini’s “Turandot” at the Salzburg Festival in 2021. According to Platea Magazine and Forum Opera, the two superstars will star in a new production of Puccini’s final opera {…}

Apr 23, 2018

Far Travelers – Composers Jeffrey Leiser & Andrés Soto on Creating A Brand New Viking Opera

Who were the Vikings? The word itself certainly produces an impact on everyone, and yet, how well do we really know them? How much of our understanding of their existence is the result of legends that have been perpetuated through a wide range of media and literature? These questions were at the core of composer and librettist Jeffrey Leiser when {…}

Apr 23, 2018

Najmiddin Mavlyanov To Make Metropolitan Opera Debut In ‘Tosca’

Najmiddin Mavlyanov will sing the role of Cavaradossi in “Tosca” at the Metropolitan Opera. The Met announced that Mavlyanov will make his Met debut singing the final two performances of “Tosca” on the May 8 and 12. He will join Anna Netrebko and Željko Lučić. Mavlyanov has performed the role of Cavaradossi at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, {…}

Apr 23, 2018

Tenor Andrea Shin To Make His Metropolitan Opera Debut In ‘Roméo et Juliette’

Charles Castronovo has canceled the opening night performance of Gounod’s “Roméo et Juliette” at the Metropolitan Opera. The Met announced via Twitter that due to illness, Castronovo would not be able to perform. As a result, Andrea Shin will be making his Met debut replacing Castronovo. Shin studied at Accademia della Scala, Mozarteum in Salzburg, and at Conservatoire in Wien {…}

Apr 23, 2018

OPERA NEWS Awards’ 5 Honorees Weigh In On Importance of Recognition

It’s always fun to receive awards. And all five of the major honorees of the OPERA NEWS Awards were beaming on Sunday afternoon, April 23, 2018, during the gala event at The Plaza Hotel in New York City. For the past 13 years, the famed opera magazine has given out accolades to five opera powerhouses. “We always look at a {…}

Apr 23, 2018

The Atlanta Opera To Present The Impresario Gala

The Atlanta Opera will present The Impresarios Gala to celebrate the fun side of opera. The gala, which is a benefit to raise money to support the company’s endeavors on-stage and in the community, will see four brave individuals compete against one another by lip-synching some of the greatest opera arias in history. The contenders will be in full costume {…}