Semperoper Dresden has announced two cast changes for its final performance of Puccini’s “La Bohème” on July 12, 2019. Israeli soprano Hila Baggio will sing Musetta and Belarussian tenor Pavel Valuzhin will sing Rodolfo, replacing Iulia Maria Dan and Yosep Kang, respectively. Baggio made her company debut when she replaced Dan, who is ill, on July 7. She has performed {…}
The Orchestra National de France and the Choeur and Maîtrise de Radio France will present a free Bastille Day concert on Sunday, Jul. 14, 2019. The concert will take place “at the foot of the Eiffel Tower . . . [and] will be followed by the very famous fireworks,” according to SortiraParis. Alain Altinoglu will lead the orchestra. The event {…}
Anna Netrebko has announced via Twitter that opera fans will soon be able to tune into broadcasts of Verdi’s “Il Trovatore” from Arena di Verona. The broadcasts will take place on Jul. 13 at 6:30 p.m. (via 3sat), Jul 14 at 10:15 p.m. (via ZDF), and Jul 20 at 10:20 p.m. (via France Télévisions). Netrebko stars as Leonora alongside Yusif Eyvazov {…}
(Photo Courtesy of Alaistair White) Alastair White’s “WEAR” will be presented in London on August 23 and 24, 2019. The work, which has been described as “Waiting for Godot” meets “Lulu,” will be presented in its first fully-staged production at the Bridewell Theatre. The opera was nominated for a Scottish Award for New Music earlier this year. “WEAR is an {…}
“Opera Meets Film” is a feature dedicated to exploring the way that opera has been employed in cinema. We will select a section or a film in its entirety, highlighting the impact that utilizing the operatic form or sections from an opera can alter our perception of a film that we are viewing. This week’s installment takes a look at {…}
The Teatro Comunale di Bologna has announced its 2020 season. Here is a look at what to expect. The season opens with Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde” conducted by Juraj Valčuha and in a new production by Ralf Pleger. Stefan Vinke and Ann Petersen take on the title role s with Albert Dohmen, Martin Gantner, and Ekaterina Gubanova. Performance Dates: Jan. 24-31, 2020 Karah Son, Cristina {…}
American soprano Deborah Voigt has changed management and will now be represented by San Francisco’s Promethean Artists. The soprano, who was previously represented by Columbia Artist Management (CAMI) changed management to reflect what she considers a return to her roots, as she moves from an opera-centered repertoire to the music that first inspired her to choose the life of a {…}
Legendary soprano Montserrat Caballe once said, “Saioa Hernández is the diva of our century and the theaters are sleeping because she should be in every single one.” Up until this year, Hernandez had been performing in the smaller European theaters to great acclaim and slowly moving up the ranks. But she was far from a household name in the opera {…}
(Photo: Royal Opera House/Tristram Kenton) A map unfolds to become mammoth-sized over the stage in Laurent Pelly’s 2007 production of “La Fille du Régiment:” a zany and cartoonish exposition of this far-fetched comic tale that stretches paper-thin our talent for suspending disbelief. Mounting the set in an unspecified era with almost incidental visual references to furniture, furnishings and fashions of the {…}
(Credit: Festival D’aix-En-Provence) On July 11, 2019, Arte is set to stream to Kurt Weill’s “Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny” from the Festival D’Aix-En-Provence. The new production by Ivo van Hove, which is set to make its way to the Metropolitan Opera, stars Karita Mattila, Alan Oke, Sir Willard White, Annette Dasch, Nikolai Schukoff, Sean Panikkar, Thomas Oliemans, and Peixin Chen. Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts the {…}
On Jul. 5, 2019, Teatro alla Scala announced the untimely death of tenor Giuseppe Bellanca. He was 48. Italian news site ANSA reported that Bellanca died instantly when his Honda Hornet motorcycle crashed into a large vehicle, which, according to police, “did not respect a give way sign.” The accident occurred at Piazza Ovidio. Born in Palermo in 1970, Bellanca {…}
