(Credit: Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera, Jiyang Chen Photography) New Year’s Eve is a night of non-stopped celebration. It is a night often associated with fireworks, champagne, and time spent with loved ones. It is also a night of opera galas, with many companies around the world showcasing top talents for the last time in the calendar year. As such, OperaWire has compiled {…}
(Credit: © Joan Tomás – Fidelio Artist) In 2019 the Donizetti Opera Festival celebrated its fifth anniversary after winning the prestigious Best Festival at the Oper! Magazine Awards. The festival showcased three works by the famed composer that brought an international audience and a number of rising stars and international singers. It was also the second year for famed conductor {…}
(Credits: Cory Weaver/Metropolitan Opera) Piotr Beczala is undeniably one of the most renowned tenors of the last few years, his profile growing year to year. In 2019, he not only delivered a number of historic performances (including two high profile showcases in which he encored noted arias), but he also received a Grammy nomination, and won Oper! Magazine Award’s Male {…}
The Teatro Real de Madrid has announced two cast changes for its upcoming production of Wagner’s “Die Walküre.” The company announced that Günther Groissböck will no longer sing the role of Hunding in this production with René Pape replacing him on performances scheduled for Feb. 12, 16, 21, 25 and 28, 2020. Groissböck will be performing “Der Rosenkavalier” in Berlin {…}
One could call the Met Opera’s new production of “Wozzeck” a collage. The opera itself undeniably brings this word to mind in how Alban Berg unites the dark tale of a misanthrope who murders his lover and drowns himself via numerous musical structures and forms. The entire first act features a suite, a rondo, a lullaby, and a passacaglia while {…}
(Credits: Patricia Varela) Young Norwegian soprano Elisabeth Teige has established herself as one of the most sought-after dramatic sopranos of her generation. She has appeared in the number of dramatic roles including Senta in “Der Fliegende Holländer,” Leonore in “Fidelio,” Cio-Cio-San in “Madama Butterfly,” Irene Wagner’s “Rienzi, der Letzte der Tribunen,” Elsa in “Lohengrin,” and the title character of Puccini’s {…}
The Opéra National de Paris has not only continued to cancel performances, but will also be closing off the Palais Garnier due to the part of the staff joining the strike. National strike that has been hitting Opéra de Paris performances has continued unabated. Opera House has also warned visitors that due to the current circumstances performances on Dec. 29, {…}
(Source: Lana Kos Facebook) Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra will hold its Big Philharmonic Ball on December 30, 2019 spotlighting soprano Lana Kos. Kos will perform the arias “Heia, Heia, in der Bergen” from Emmerich Kálmán’s operetta “Die Csárdásfürstin,” “Spiel auf deiner Geige” from Robert Stolz’s operetta “Venus in Seide,” as well as “Vilja Lied” from Franz Lehár’s opera “Die Lustige Witwe.” {…}
Credit: © Wilfried Hösl/ Filip Van Roe This weekend the holiday season continues with a lot of theaters are showcasing fairy tales. For this weekend we look at some rarely performed works in new productions. Rusalka – Trioler Festspiele Erl, Austria Alexander Prior conducts of a new production of Dvorak’s masterwork by Florentine Klepper. The production is set to star Karen {…}
Opera singer and conductor Peter Schreier, who won fame at the Salzburg festival and Milan’s Teatro alla Scala, has died in Dresden, Germany. The tenor, who was 84, died on Wednesday on Dec. 25, 2019. Schreier was born July 29, 1935 in Meissen, Saxony, Germany when he spent his first years in the small village of Gauernitz, where his father was {…}
(Credit: Pedro Walter) Plácido Domingo is set to inaugurate the 32nd Festival Internacional de Música y Danza Ciudad de Úbeda. The concert set for May 3, 2020 will take place at the Plaza de Toros and will be accompanied by the festival’s orchestra. Domingo will perform a selection of opera arias and Zarzuela romances as well as songs from the {…}