Benjamin Britten, born on Nov. 22, 1913, is arguably the greatest English composer of all time. He composed a plethora of major works across a wide variety of classical styles, but he was easily one of the most influential opera composers of the 20th century. His first “opera” was “Paul Bunyan,” which had its premiere on May 5, 1941. “Peter {…}
Sumi Jo was born on Nov. 22, 1962, in South Korea. Her mother had been an amateur singer and pianist who, due to political circumstances, could not study music and pursue a professional career. However, because of this, Jo’s mother did all she could to ensure that her daughter never lost the opportunities she did. So she enrolled her in {…}
G. Schirmer, Inc., part of The Music Sales Group has announced the acquisition of the worldwide publishing rights to classical composer Florence Price’s catalog. Florence Price was one of the first African-American women to be nationally recognized as a composer and was the first African-American woman to have her work performed by a major American orchestra. In a press release G. {…}
Brandon Jovanovich is set to replace Bryan Hymel in four performances of “Les Troyens.” The Opéra National de Paris announced that Hymel, who was originally scheduled to perform all seven performances, will now only perform in the final three shows. Hymel recently completed a production of “Les Vêspres Siciliennes” at the Bayerische Staatsoper and recently accepted a position at the Academy of {…}
Investec Opera Holland Park has announced that it will stage a double bill of “Margot la Rouge” and “Le Villi” in 2020. In a press release, the company announced that “Le Villi” has been on OHP’s planning board for some time and the upcoming production will be the first major London staging of the work. Meanwhile, “Margot la Rouge” is {…}
Italian bass Carlo Cava has died. The bass passed away on Sept. 1, 2018, after falling and breaking five ribs at the age of 90. Cava was hospitalized and recovering. Cava was born on August 16, 1928, in the city of Ascoli and became one of the most recognized basses of his generation. He went on to perform alongside such {…}
Opera Rara has announced that it will transfer its music library to The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. The new library will be called The Foyle Opera Rara Collection in honor of The Foyle Foundation which made the donation that enabled the transfer. The Foyle Opera Rara Collection will be comprised of over 5,000 volumes of first and {…}
It’s a Lisette Oropesa kind of Year! After her huge success in the title role of “Lucia di Lammermoor” at the Teatro Real, she made headlines in Pesaro, Italy making her role debut in the title role of “Adina” at the Rossini Opera Festival. Then she went to Paris for two successful runs. First, she stepped in for a new {…}
October saw the opening of Innsbruck’s Haus der Musik, containing two concert halls and a small theater for staged works. Costing €62.7m, it is a splendid modern building, with a large glass front surrounded by dark ceramic paneling. Sitting next to the Landestheater, with its ochre-colored neoclassical façade, dominated by its four Corinthian columns, and opposite to the Hofburg palace, {…}
The creators of the opera “Far Travelers” have released a video recording of the initial performance of the work back in May 2018. The 50-minute concert version of the opera features the likes of Kirsten Chambers, Joanie Brittingham, Michelle Jennings, Bray Wilkins, Eric Lindsey, and Raymon Geis. The work was the brainchild of composer and librettist Jeffrey Leiser, who worked {…}
There are cases for quite serious readings of Engelbert Humperdinck’s 1893 opera “Hansel and Gretel,” which Los Angeles Opera has just opened at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in a revival of Doug Fitch’s 2006 production. In his program booklet essay “Hansel and Gretel” (“Fact and Fiction”) Basil De Pinto pointed out the opera’s very real concerns with hunger and poverty {…}