Few sopranos in the second half of the 20th century have had as enduring a legacy as Renata Scotto. Born on Feb. 24, 1934, she enjoyed a career as a top soprano before turning to directing and teaching. Few artists can truly claim as diverse a portfolio as the diva. In honor of her birthday, here is a trivia quiz {…}
Régine Crespin was one of France’s greatest opera stars. The French superstar, born on Feb. 23, 1927, was born in Marseille and experienced a challenging childhood often hampered by an alcoholic mother and the second World War. She was originally set for a career as a pharmacist but exam results limited her being able to attend college. She then started {…}
When it comes to baroque opera, George Frideric Handel is the go-to composer. Born on Feb. 23, 1685, Handel worked as a composer in Hamburg and Italy before eventually making his way to London where he would become a prominent figure. He set up three commercial opera companies in London and wound up composing a whopping 42 operas between 1705 {…}
Elza van den Heever has canceled tonight’s performance of Strauss’ “Elektra.” The Lyric Opera of Chicago announced Van den Heever is suffering from a cold and as a result the role of Chrysothemis will be sung by Alexandra LoBianco. This season, LoBianco has been at the Lyric Opera covering the role of Brünnhilde in “Siegfried” and Chrysothemis in “Elektra.” She has {…}
Anthony Dean Griffey and Amy Owens are set to headline the second George London Foundation recital of the season. The recital will showcase Griffey in Three Songs for Tenor, Cello, and Piano by Frank Bridge, joined by cellist David Heiss, Mitch’s Aria from André Previn’s “A Streetcar Named Desire,” Sam’s Aria from Carlisle Floyd’s “Susannah,” and songs by John Jacob {…}
Composer Dominick Argento has passed away at age 91. Born in 1927 in York Pennsylvania, the composer would earn both his Bachelor and Master’s degrees from the Peabody Conservatory. He then got a Ph. D. from the Eastman School of Music, followed by Fulbright and Guggenheim Fellowships that enabled him to study in Italy. From there he became the music {…}
The finalists for the 48th annual George London Foundation Awards Competition have been revealed. The George London foundation announced that Sarah Joyce Cooper, Shannon Jennings, Rebecca Pederson, Elizabeth Reiter, Olivia Smith, Amanda Lynn Bottoms, Samantha Gossard, Carolyn Sproule, Polixeni Tsiouvaras, Matthew Swensen, Charles Sy, Joseph Tancredi, Kyle van Schoonhoven, Matthew White, Vartan Gabrielian, and Ron Dukes will compete on Feb. 22, 2019 in the finals. The George London competition {…}
There is a wide range of variety on this weekend’s recommendations, though you might notice a familiar composer making his way into the top five for yet another week. Here are the operas to see this weekend (in alphabetical order by company). The Loser – LA Opera David Lang’s new opera makes its West Coast premiere on Friday and Saturday {…}
The Grange Festival’s 2019 season was recently announced, revealing that the event will showcase three new opera productions. Richard Egarr conducts Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro” in a new production by Martin Lloyd-Evans. Toby Girling stars as the Count, while Simona Mihai is set to portray the Countess. Ellie Laugharne will sing Susanna, while Roberto Lorenzi will take on the {…}
This week there are a number of new productions as well as classic works being performed. There is also one opera that is being showcased in two different theaters with two all-star casts; it is for this reason that we simply could not overlook it. Check out our recommendations in alphabetical order by company. Karl V – Bayerische Staatsoper, Germany {…}
The Teatro Mayor in Bogota Colombia in co-production with the Ópera de Colombia has announced that it will present Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” next month. The production by renowned director Alejandro Chacón is set to star an international cast. Alexia Voulgaridou sings the title role of Cio-Cio-San with Colombian tenor César Gutiérrez as Pinkerton. Baritone Marcelo Guzzo will portray Sharpless, while mezzo-soprano Asude {…}
