(Credit: Simon Jay Price) Wagner’s biography and character are all over his operas, often transparently so: the wandering, embittered outcast in “The Flying Dutchman;” the revolutionary artist in “Die Meistersinger;” the sensuous hedonist in “Tristan und Isolde.” This may be one of the reasons that some people find his work overbearing and suffocating. Rarely is he identified with the dwarf {…}
(Credit: Ashley Plante) The Semperoper Dresden has announced that Soprano Sara Jakubiak will sing the role of Eva in Wagner’s “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg” for the final presentation on Feb. 16, 2020. The company announced that Jakubiak will join the production, which stars Georg Zeppenfeld, Vitalij Kowaljow, Iurie Ciobanu, Günter Haumer, Adrian Eröd, Oliver Zwarg, Markus Miesenberger, Patrick Vogel, Beomjin {…}
(Credit: – Dan Norman/Dominic M. Mercie/David Bachman) The Pittsburgh Opera has announced its 2020-21 season featuring three main stage production and three modern operas. Here is a look at the ambitious season. Main Stage – Benedum Center Productions The season opens with Dvořák’s “Rusalka,” the first time the opera will be preformed with the company. The opera is set to {…}
Last year, we took a look at some of the Oscar Nominees to see which of them would provide suitable opera adaptations for current and future composers of the art form. In theory, any of these ideas could be adopted into an opera with sufficient ambition and creativity, but some of the films operate very closely to the operatic language {…}
(Credit: Marco Grob) Jan Vogler, the internationally acclaimed cellist, has extended his contract with the city of Dresden as Intendant of the Dresden Music Festival through 2026. The official agreement was made on January 31, 2020. Vogler assumed the position of Intendant of the Dresden Music Festival in 2009 and has since established the showcase as one of the most important and successful {…}
(Credit: Jonathan Nesteruk) American soprano Jacquelyn Stucker Drye has prepared and published a complete phonetic transcription and detailed translation of the libretto from Berg’s “Wozzeck” from German into English. “A singer’s translation and phonetic transcription of ‘Wozzeck’ does not, as yet, exist in any format whatsoever, but this resource would enable any non-German-speaking singer the opportunity to assimilate this work {…}
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra has announced its 2020-21 season, featuring a number of vocal and orchestral works. For the purpose of this article, we will highlight vocal works. Canadian mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo will take part in a concert featuring Mozart arias conducted by Gustavo Gimeno. Performance Dates: Sept. 23-27, 2020 Soprano Karina Gauvin performs in a concert featuring works by {…}
(Photo Credit: Wiener Staatsoper GmbH/Michael Pöhn) Ludwig van Beethoven’s only opera “Fidelio” is usually characterized as an operatic work of extraordinary musical and dramatic values. Well-known for its mammoth Overture to Leonore No. 3, and originally entitled “Leonore, or the Triumph of Marital Love,” it carries a powerful message of a brave woman who risks her own life in order {…}
The International Opera Awards have announced the nominees for its 2020 Awards. The annual event, which celebrates achievement in opera around the globe over the 2019 calendar year, recognizes excellence in a wide range of categories that cover performance, design and direction, as well as education and outreach. This year, two opera companies topped the 2020 nominees with three a {…}
New Camerata Opera is set to present Libby Larsen and Bridget Carpenter’s “Barnum’s Bird” at (Le) Poisson Rouge in New York City this May. The production, which is to take the stage on May 7, 8, 14, and 15, will feature Erik Bagger, Victor Khododad, and Samina Aslam with Nell Flanders leading performers from The Muse. The production will be {…}
(Credit: Cory Weaver) Opera lovers in Frankfurt were excited about the opening night of Verdi’s “Rigoletto” at the Oper Frankfurt on January 24, 2020. Christopher Maltman was in the title role, and joined Bianca Tognocchi as Gilda with Pier Giorgio Morandi conducting. The cast also included bass Barnaby Rea and mezzo-soprano Tanja Ariane Baumgartner, among others. Also making his debut {…}