The weekend is here and many productions have just opened. This week, we see a number of standard pieces being performed in new productions as well as some rarely performed contemporary works. We also leave the opera genre to showcase a major Zarzuela being performed in Spain. Here is a look. Satyagraha – Vlaanderen Opera, Belgium Rihab Chaieb and Peter Tantsits {…}
As we get ready for Thanksgiving, we can look around and be thankful for all the opera options in North America. Here’s a look at what you can check out before you start to think about your Thanksgiving feast. Poppea – Bare Opera It might be a reduced version of Monteverdi’s masterpiece, but it remains a vital piece of work {…}
How many opera singers could claim to have been nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards? Lawrence Tibbett can. Born on Nov. 16, 1896, the American baritone grew up in Los Angeles singing in church choirs and at funerals to survive after his father was killed in a shootout when he was but seven years old. He served as {…}
The Tanglewood Festival has announced its 2019 season. As with other programs of this sort, we will limit ourselves to the vocal and operatic selections on display. For the full program, click here. Verdi’s Requiem will get a performance with Kristine Opolais, Oksana Volkova, Jonathan Tetelman, and Ryan Speedo Green. Andris Nelsons will conduct the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Performance Date: {…}
Soprano Elizabeth Caballero has announced that she will be appearing in Puccini’s “La Bohème” on Thursday, Nov. 15, 2018. She will be stepping in for soprano Adrienn Miksch, who was originally billed to sing. “Yup, it’s been an exciting morning today. Last time I sang Mimì it was on the Met stage. All kinds of feels are rolling in my {…}
Alexander Elliott made an unexpected Metropolitan Opera debut on Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2018. The baritone, who is currently covering the run of “The Pearl Fishers” at the Met, replaced Mariusz Kwiecien after Act one because Kwiecien was ill. The baritone recently finished a run of “Pagliacci” at Opera Omaha and is set to perform “L’Elisir d’Amore” at the Virginia Opera. He will {…}
On Wednesday, November 21, 2018, award-winning composer Felix Jarrar will be bringing a wide selection of his works for a concert at New York City’s Cornelia Street Café. Titled “Felix Jarrar & Friends,” the concert will feature two arias from Jarrar’s upcoming comic opera, “Mother Goose.” Singing these arias will be soprano Eugenia Forteza and mezzo-soprano Inbal Milliger; Forteza and Milliger {…}
UPDATE Per the Teatro Real’s Press Office: “Artistic director, Joan Matabosch, contracted Ms. Alberola, almost three years ago, to perform Liù, he thought that her voice would evolve in a different way. During the rehearsals of “Turandot,” Mr. Matabosch and the soprano agreed that it would be better not to go on with Liù now and to offer her another role in {…}
LA Opera Off Grand is set to present the world premiere of a new work by composer Ellen Reid and librettist Roxie Perkins entitled “p r i s m.” This kaleidoscopic and haunting new opera will be presented in collaboration with Beth Morrison Projects and explored an issue that fills today’s headlines all too often, violence against women. The opera {…}
Legendary tenor Jose Carerras is set to receive the ad personam honor from the the Asamblea de Ópera XXI, la Asocición de Teatros, and Spanish Opera theaters. After a meeting on Nov. 3, 2018 in La Coruña, it was decided that Carreras will receive the honor for his contributions to the opera world. The tenor had a legendary career, which has {…}
The Mirjam Helin Competition has announced the jury for this year’s competition. This year, the jury will be led by an all-star line up of singers including Olaf Bär, Ben Heppner, Vesselina Kasarova, François Le Roux, Waltraud Meier, Deborah Polaski, and Kiri Te Kanawa. The competition’s Executive Director Marja-Leena Pétas-Arjava said in a press release, “Once again, the Mirjam Helin Competition {…}