The Ópera de Tenerife has announced its 2019-20 featuring six operas, many rising stars, and one legendary artist. Donizetti’s “L’Elisir d’Amore” opens the season with Maria Rita Combattelli and Beatriz de Sousa sharing the role of Adina and Klodjan Kaҫani, and César Arrieta alternating as Nemorino. Alberto Bonifazio and Jacobo Ochoa Piedrahita alternate as Belcore, while Givi Gigineishvili and Matteo Andrea Mollica are Dulcamara. Antonio {…}
The Michigan Opera Theatre has announced its 2019-20 season featuring musicals, galas, and special concerts. Here is a look at what the Detroit company has to offer. The season opens with a gala featuring star tenor Michael Fabiano and Soprano Leah Crocetto in arias from opera and musical theater. Stephen Lord conducts the starry evening. Performance Date: Oct. 12, 2019 {…}
Lithuanian tenor Kristian Benedikt made headlines last fall when he replaced Roberto Alagna in the third act of “Samson et Dalila” at the Metropolitan Opera. It was his Metropolitan Opera debut and it came months before he was officially supposed to take the stage of the legendary house. Now he is ready for his official debut where he will perform {…}
There was a major success at Teatro Real with the presentation of Cavalli’s ”La Calisto” in its Madrid premiere. It is always a pleasure to discover a new opera, and with the baroque renaissance we are experiencing in recent decades, it wouldn’t surprise me if “La Calisto” became a regular in the repertoire. “La Calisto” is a mythological tale where {…}
Tenor Sergei Balashov has died at the age of 47. The news was announced by Moscow’s Stanislavsky Opera where he was a lead tenor. However, no cause of death was given. A graduate of the Russian Academy of Theatre Art in 1999, Balashov studied with R. Nemchinskaya and Y. Udalov. He went on to make his debut at the Stanislavsky {…}
Pittsburgh Opera has announced that Dena and Martin LaMar have joined its Board of Directors. Dena LaMar, an alumnus of North Carolina A&T State University and University of Northern Virginia, is the Regional Vice President for the Great Lakes Regions at Advance Auto Parts Inc. She serves on the Boards of Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation, Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, and {…}
This review is for the performance on March 24, 2019. The crux of its concept a curse, Verdi’s “La Forza del Destino” relies on motifs as portentous as ravens. With its harrowing theme of inescapable fate rearing its head in the overture, the early murder of the Marquis of Calatrava heralds the “maledizione:” a hounding lethal curse that will hunt {…}
The Bayerische Staatsoper will live stream the March 30, 2019 performance of Puccini’s “La Fanciulla del West” via its Staatsoper.TV. The free transmission will kick off at 7 p.m. local time (1 p.m. EST and 10 a.m. PST) and is set to feature Anja Kampe as the opera’s heroine Minnie. Brandon Jovanovich will appear as the bandit Ramirez / Dick {…}
The Staatsoper Berlin has announced its 2019-20 season, which will feature 10 new productions in addition to numerous revivals. Production premieres It all starts with Otto Nicolai’s “The Merry Wives of Windsor” with Daniel Barenboim conducting and David Bösch. René Pape will interpret the role of Falstaff with the remaining cast members including Michael Full, Wilhelm Schwinghammer, Pavol Breslik, Linard {…}
Mezzo-soprano Liz Book is set to showcase a program entitled “New Beginnings” on April 3, 2019, at the Lounge at Dixon Place in New York. The concert performance will feature a number of arias that showcases Bouk’s life as a transgender opera singer. There will be arias from “The Rape of Lucretia,” “The Ballad of Baby Doe,” “Der Rosenkavalier,” as {…}
The Teatro Real de Madrid has made a major casting change for its upcoming production of Verdi’s “Falstaff.” Nicola Alaimo, who was originally scheduled to take on the title role of Falstaff, will no longer perform. Per Platea Magazine, the bass-baritone has canceled due to health reasons. In his stead, the company has brought in two singers to share the {…}