(Credit: Anna Barbera) Tenor René Barbera is set to take on the role of Alfredo at the Teatro alla Scala next July 2020. The tenor is stepping in for Francesco Meli, who was originally announced in the opera opposite soprano Marina Rebeka. The tenor joins a cast that includes Luca Salsi as Giorgio Germont and Zubin Mehta at the podium. {…}
(Credit: Gerhard Ringhofer) Günther Groissböck has confirmed a new production of Verdi’s “Don Carlo” at the Metropolitan Opera. In a recent interview with Online Merker, the bass confirmed that he will sing the role of King Philip in a new interpretation of the famed Verdi work in 2022. Moreover, he revealed that he will first sing the French version of {…}
(Credit: Marty Sohl / Met Opera) On Thursday, the Metropolitan Opera will open its fourth production of the season – Puccini’s “Turandot.” This run of performances is unique because they represent the first time that the Met Opera’s music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts an opera by Puccini at the famed house. To this point, he has tackled works by Bizet, {…}
(Credit: Virginia Opera) Tosca is the ultimate diva role. It’s the role most sopranos dream of singing because of its demands both as a singer and actress. This week the Virginia Opera will see rising star Ewa Plonka make her company debut in her very first “Tosca” performances. Plonka, a prize winner of such prestigious competitions as the Marcello Giordani {…}
Superstar mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato will be appearing in Bogotá, Colombia on October 16, 2019 with her “In War and Peace: Harmony Through Music” concert headed to the Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo. DiDonato will be accompanied by Il Pomo D’Oro and will perform the music of Purcell, De Cavalieri, and Handel, among others. This is the latest stop in {…}
OperaVision will showcase Janáček’s “Jenůfa” live from the National Theatre Brno on Oct. 2, 2019. The production will feature Jitka Zerhauová, Jaroslav Březina, Tomáš Juhás, Szilvia Rálik, Pavla Vykopalová, Ivan Kusnjer, Ladislav Mlejnek, Jarmila Balážová, Eva Štěrbová, Stanislava Jirků, Lenka Schallenberger, Martina Mádlová, and Ivona Špičková. Marko Ivanović will conduct the production directed by Martin Glaser. The stream kicks off {…}
On Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019, the Vienna State Opera will live stream Benjamin Britten’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The performance will be led by conductor Simone Young and will star Lawrence Zazzo, Erin Morley, Théo Touvet, Peter Kellner, Szilvia Vörös, Josh Lovell, Rafael Fingerlos, Rachel Frenkel, Valentina Naforniţa, Peter Rose, and Benjamin Hulett. The stream kicks off at 7 p.m. {…}
(Credit: Joan Tomàs) Celso Albelo has canceled his debut at the Royal Opera House Muscat. The tenor canceled his appearance as Rodolfo in “La Bohème” due to a knee injury. As a result, Giorgio Berrugi will replace Albelo. Berrugi is an Italian tenor known throughout Europe who is set to return to the Teatro alla Scala this season and will {…}
The Atlanta Opera has announced that it has extended its contract with The Atlanta Opera Orchestra through the end of the 2023-24 season. The existing contract expired this past July. “The orchestra has been a critical partner in the growth of the company from 12 performances in 2013 to 32 performances in 2019,” shares Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. General and {…}
The Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory has announced that Irina Bogacheva passed away on Sept. 19, 2019 at the age of 80. Born in Leningrad in 1939, Bogacheva graduated from Leningrad Conservatory, where she later returned as an educator and Chair of the Department of Solo Singing. According to Rossiyskaya Gazeta, the mezzo was best known for taking on leading {…}
Recently named General Director of Center of Contemporary Opera (CCO), Francesca Campagna represents a positive shift towards greater international and personal awareness within the opera community. She is the first female in CCO’s history of 37 years to be selected for this role and also the first immigrant. Her career’s journey spans over more than a decade and has been {…}