(Photo: Patrick Redmond) The Irish National Opera continues to develop apace. Having been going for less than two years, the company has managed to produce a diverse range of operas that is able to shame more established companies. It could have been excused for playing safe in sticking with popular operas, but it has done no such thing: yes, it {…}
(Credit: Dario Acosta) Sarah Mesko is walking a straight path toward an important career. The Arkansas native has built her success on solid academic training and noteworthy apprenticeships, and has received bundles of prestigious awards in return. She has performed with scores of professional companies in the United States, including the Met where she has paid her dues as a {…}
The Stetson Opera Theatre is set to open its season with Handel’s “Giulio Ceesare in Egitto” on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019 at the Athens Theatre in Deland, Florida. The production will be directed by Russell Franks with Anthony Hose at the podium. The opera will feature Alesandra Collins in the title role with Melissa Feurich and Lauren Prestifilippo alternating as {…}
(Credit: Vincent Pontet/ ONP) Audiences that went to check out Verdi’s “Don Carlo” at the Opéra de Paris this Friday on opening night wound up seeing two tenors in the leading role. Roberto Alagna was one of the star attractions of the production as he was set to appear in the famed opera alongside his wife Aleksandra Kursak. But Alagna, {…}
The Portland Opera Board of Directors has removed the interim tag from Sue Dixon, naming her the sixth General Director of the company. Dixon has been with the Portland Opera since 2014, working as director of development and eventually director of external affairs in 2017. She was also named interim general director in July 2019. “I know, firsthand, what it {…}
Richard Brunel has been officially installed as the new director at the Opéra de Lyon, effective September 2021. Per France Musique, the appointment was approved by Minister of Culture Franck Riester. Brunel started his career as an actor in the early 1990s before creating the collective Compagnie Anonyme. From there his career continued to take flight with the director becoming {…}
(Photo: Gerard Collett) It was an early start this morning to what proved to be a long day. At 10:30 a.m. Rosetta Cucchi held a press conference to announce next season’s program along with her vision for the future of Wexford Festival Opera which, to put it mildly, is very exciting and includes many new initiatives, which is certain to {…}
The Ópera de Colombia will celebrate World Opera Day on Oct. 26 with a transmission on Canal Capital of the opera “La princesa y la arveja.” The production is the third that the Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá did last year during the Festival Ópera al Parque. In Cali, Donizetti’s “Lucia Di Lamermoor” will be presented and the Teatro Municipal Enrique {…}
(Credit: Alexey Kostromin) When you think of Verdi mezzo, there are few singers that fit that bill as well as Russian artist Ekaterina Semenchuk. For years now, she has been the go-to mezzo-soprano in Verdi’s major roles, finding major triumphs at such venues as the Opéra National de Paris, the Teatro Real de Madrid, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, the {…}
There is a common misconception that melodic opera in the vein of the great romantics of the 19th century is dead in the 21st century. Most composers today would have you believe that. But Daniel Catán never did and his masterpiece “Florencia en el Amazonas” bears this out better than anyone else. The work, which had its world premiere on {…}
Recently, mourning the death of truly great soprano Jessye Norman, many opera singers, directors, and other professionals shared an extract from her amazing interview for BBC HARDtalk, in which she covered many important topics on the opera industry and education. But what people shared was a very particular short piece, where she shared her thoughts on opera critics. Question: Did {…}