Conductor Daniele Rustioni is poised to change things up at the Opera de Lyon in coming seasons. The Italian maestro was presented as the newly minted Music Director of the company at a private reception in New York on Thursday at the Bar Boulud on Broadway. Along with him was Lyon Opera’s own General Director Serge Dorny to reveal the {…}
Easter Weekend is upon us and the opera companies around the world are doing their utmost to bring people to the theater. Here is a look at the things going around in the international opera scene. Austria Reiman’s “Medea” opens the weekend on Saturday at the Vienna State Opera with Claudia Barainsky, Stephanie Houtzeel, Monika Bohinec, Norbert Ernst, Adrian Eröd and {…}
“The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs” by Mason Bates and Mark Campbell, hit the stage at the Guggenheim Museum as part of its program “Works & Progress.” The program introduced pieces of this unique opera followed by a moderated discussion with the Grammy-nominated Composer Mason Bates on his new work. During the discussion, Bates emphasized that this will be his first opera and {…}
On May 7, Plácido Domingo returns to great performances on PBS. The tenor-turned-baritone stars in Verdi’s “Nabucco” from the Metropolitan Opera’s recent revival of the composer’s early masterwork. Domingo is joined by an exceptional cast that includes the dramatic soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska as Abigaille and Dmitry Belosselskiy as Zaccaria. Jamie Barton stars as Fenena while Russell Thomas is Ismaele. James {…}
On April 17, Puccini’s “Tosca” will be transmitted on Arte.tv. The production from the Baden-Baden Festival will star Kristine Opolais and Marcelo Alvarez in the lead roles while Evgeny Nikitin will star as Scarpia. Sir Simon Rattle conducts the Berlin Philharmonic in Philipp Himmelman’s new production. Opolais is best known for her work in Puccini and is one of the {…}
Sir Bryn Terfel has canceled his appearances as Wotan and the Wanderer in Wagner’s Ring at the Vienna State Opera. The bass-baritone, who was scheduled to appear later this month, will be replaced by Egils Silins in “Das Rheingold” on April 30 and by Tomasz Konieczny in “Die Walküre” on May 1 and “Siegfried” on 7th May. Thomas Johannes Mayer will perform {…}
A few weeks ago, Metropolitan Opera Music Director Designate Yannick Nézet-Séguin made the proclamation that he would be bringing newer and fresher composers to the Metropolitan Opera throughout his tenure. A few days later it was reported that among the new composers he would be bringing would be Jake Heggie’s “Dead Man Walking.” It’s a great start, considering Heggie, who {…}
As the career of the great James Levine enters its twilight, major organizations are finding ways to recognize his work. The Metropolitan Opera, where he has been for decades has already made him music director emeritus and it seems that another organization is just as ready to create a position to honor him. Enter Ravinia, which has now conferred on {…}
It’s the holiday season with Easter and Passover taking place at the same time. As a result, OperaWire is taking a look at some of the operas that are set during these very sacred holidays. Easter For those not familiar with what Easter Sunday celebrates, it is the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as {…}
The Salzburg Osterfestpiele has announced its lineup for 2018. The opera that will headline the festival will be Puccini’s “Tosca” starring German soprano Anja Harteros. The soprano is currently portraying Sieglinde at the festival in a new production of Wagner’s “Die Walküre.” She will be joined by Latvian tenor Aleksandrs Antonenko and the production will also star French baritone Ludovic Tezier. {…}
The Des Moines Metro Opera has been awarded a generous gift from the Lauridsen Family Foundation. According to a press release, the gift is for a whopping $1 million in support of the Company’s Words & Music at the Carnegie Capital Campaign. The campaign has been set up to support the “restoration and expansion of DMMO’s headquarters—the historic Carnegie Library {…}