(Credit: Ann Ray / Metropolitan Opera) In the opera house, big personalities abound. From violists who just can’t seem to catch a break to prima donnas who attract adulation and praise (and maybe a touch of jealousy, too) at every turn, who knew one building could be filled with so many different characters! Whether you commute to the opera house {…}
Famed soprano Ainhoa Arteta has revealed that she was raped in New York when she was 25-years-old. The soprano revealed the information on the show “Retratos con Alma” on TVE in Spain. Arteta explained that the incident took place when she was living in a suburban apartment in New York while building her career and right before performing “Clorinda” in {…}
(Credit: Charles Duprat) Great opera still exists. The kind where we see a strong cast buoyed by a clear staging and even better musical direction. That argument was strongly made and felt on Wednesday, July 10, 2019 at the Palais Garnier with Ivo van Hove’s new production of “Don Giovanni.” The interpretation, which is headed to the Metropolitan Opera in {…}
(Credit: Noelia Pirsic) “Do you live from singing opera?” “Is it difficult to sing that way?” “Is it hard to memorize the lyrics?” “How do you resist singing for so long?” The doubts of 10-year-old kids in wonder flew like ping-pong balls during one of the open rehearsals for “Hansel & Gretel” that took place in the hall of the San {…}
(Credit: Genevieve Girling) Buxton Festival kicked off their program of operas with “Eugene Onegin,” Tchaikovsky’s work of love, passion, rejection and regret, set among the decadent leisured class of 19th century Imperial Russia, a class which was soon to meet its end at the hands of the communists in the 1917 revolution. Firmly rooted in the Romantic tradition, the opera {…}
(Credit: Henning Ross, Sony Classical) Countertenor Valer Sabadus will be performing in Australia for the first time in collaboration with Pinchgut Opera on August 25, 2019. The recital will take place at the City Recital Hall in Sydney and will feature the Orchestra of Antipodes under the musical direction of Erin Heylard. It will feature music by Handel, Caldara, Hasse, {…}
(Credit: Marco Borggreve) San Diego Opera has announced that Yves Abel will be the company’s new Principal Conductor starting in 2020-21. The contract is set for three years with the maestro set to conduct a double bill opera in his first year, a French work in 2021-22, and another opera in 2022-23. “It is a great joy and honor for {…}
(Credit: Official Website) The Shed is set to present Verdi’s Requiem on Nov. 19-24, 2019. The performance will feature musicAeterna and conductor Teodor Currentzis in the organization’s North American debut. The production of the work will feature a specially commissioned cinematic artwork by avant-garde filmmaker Jonas Mekas. Mekas, who recently passed away at age 96, drew inspiration from text by {…}
(Credit: Cristopher Santos) Dead branches bend in the wind as the first notes of Schubert’s “Du bist die Ruh” palpitate softly. Suddenly a gentle soprano materializes as we get a birds eye view of soprano Julia Sophie Wagner, in a vibrant red dress, lying in the dark dirt around her, arms outstretched and moving gently up and down. This is how {…}
(Credit: Chris Singer) Anna Pirozzi has canceled her participation in “Aida” at the Gran Teatre del Liceu during the 2019-20 season. The soprano, who has been performing the role at the Arena di Verona, has noted that she will be retiring the role after the summer 2019 performances. Instead, Jennifer Rowley will be taking over the production as the titular {…}
(Credit: Brian Kuhlmann) Audrey Luna will make her Mostly Mozart Festival debut, stepping in for Christina Poulitsi as the Queen of the Night in “The magic Flute.” Luna will be performing on July 17 and 19. Per a press release, Poulitsi has withdrawn due to illness. Luna is no stranger to New York audiences, having appeared prominently in such Met {…}