On Dec. 1, 2019 Kiandra Howarth made a surprise role and house debut at the Scottish Opera as the soprano stepped in on short notice to sing the title role of Mascagni’s “Iris,” replacing Helena Dix. Dix announced her cancellation via social media on the day of the performance stating, “I’m devastated to announce that I’ve had to withdraw from {…}
(Credit:(c) Wiener Staatsoper / Michael Poehn) On Dec. 8, 2019 the Wiener Staatsoper will make history performing “Orlando.” The work was composed by Olga Neuwirth, the first woman to be commissioned to compose an opera for the theater in over 150 years. Based on Virginia Woolf’s novel of the same name, the work will feature an international cast including celebrated {…}
(Credit: Krzysztof Bielinski) OperaVision will showcase the Polish National Opera’s production of Puccini’s Tosca” on Dec. 6, 2019. The famed opera will star Ewa Vesin in the title role with Mickael Spadaccini as Cavaradossi, and Krzysztof Szumański as Baron Scarpia. Barbara Wysocka will direct a production conducted by Tadeusz Kozłowski. The stream kicks off at 7 p.m. local time. That’s {…}
This review is for the performance on Nov. 15 and 21, 2019. A common complaint of the current age is that, despite our cell phones and social media profiles, humanity is lonelier and less connected than ever before. Newspapers warn of a “loneliness epidemic,” think pieces term it a “social cancer,” and streams of articles comment on topics such as {…}
Les Chorégies d’Orange has announced its 2020 festival featuring two operas and a number of concerts. Here are the vocal highlights of the season. The season opens with Saint-Saens’ “Samson et Dalila” conducted by Yves Abel. The production will be directed by Jean-Louis Grinda and will star Marie-Nicole Lemieux and Roberto Alagna in the title roles. Ludovic Tézier rounds out {…}
The Vienna State Opera will live stream Puccini’s “Tosca” on Friday, Dec. 6, 2019. The opera will showcase soprano Evgenia Muraveva in the title role with Joseph Calleja as her lover Cavaradossi and Bryn Terfel in his signature role of Scarpia. The production, directed by Margarethe Wallmann, will be conducted by Marco Armiliato. The stream kicks off at 7 p.m. {…}
(Credit: Catherine Ashmore) David McVicar’s new production of Britten’s late masterpiece “Death in Venice” is a brooding and elusive meditation on the tribulations of aging creativity and its relationship to death and desire. Peter Pears confided that “Ben is writing an evil opera, and it is killing him,” which no doubt prompts cured autobiographical readings of the work. But here {…}
Latvian conductor Mariss Jansons died last night Nov. 30, 2019 at his home in St. Petersburg, Russia. Jansons, who was 76 years old, died of an apparent longstanding heart condition. Born in Riga, Jansons entered the Leningrad Conservatoryin 1956 to study piano and conducting and continued his training with Hans Swarowsky in Vienna and Herbert Von Karajan in Salzburg. Shortly {…}
(Credit: Yasuko Kageyama) Damiano Michieletto is one of the most sought after directors today. Born in Venice, he graduated in modern literature at the Venice University and then went on to study theatre and opera production at the Paolo Grassi School of Dramatic Art in Milan. Success would follow him soon after when he debuted in 2003 at the Wexford {…}
(Photo Credit: Kevin Yatarola) On November 26, 2019, Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall was host to the latest iteration of its Great Performers series. This installment saw Czech mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená joined by a number of distinguished artists, including Simon Rattle, violinists Giovanni Guzzo and Rahel Maria Rilling, violist Amihai Grosz, cellist David Adorjan, flutist Kaspar Zehnder and clarinetist Andrew {…}
(Credit: Barbara Dietl) Czech-born vocalist Tomaš Kral has a virtuosic baritone with a warm timbre which he uses to remind the modern-day audiences of the charm of early music, its purity of spirit, and the peace it brings. Audiences have had the opportunity to experience these aspects of Kral’s artistry through his performances with such as Collegium 1704, Collegium Marianum, {…}