(Credit: Cory Weaver) Opera lovers in Frankfurt were excited about the opening night of Verdi’s “Rigoletto” at the Oper Frankfurt on January 24, 2020. Christopher Maltman was in the title role, and joined Bianca Tognocchi as Gilda with Pier Giorgio Morandi conducting. The cast also included bass Barnaby Rea and mezzo-soprano Tanja Ariane Baumgartner, among others. Also making his debut {…}
(Credit: Courtesy of Sarasota Opera/ Rod Millington) The Sarasota Opera in Florida has announced its 2020-21 season. “The variety of the 2020-21 season means that it includes a number of works that have been absent from our stage for some time and some of our audience’s favorites,” says Executive Director Richard Russell. “They also represent several of the great opera {…}
The Utah Symphony has announced its 2020-21 season featuring a diverse program. For this article we will only highlight the vocal programming. Shiyeon Sung conducts Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with soloists Celena Shafer, Kirstin Chávez, Arnold Livingston Geis and Andrew Foster-Williams. The concert will also include Mozart’s “Ave verum corpus” and “Misericordias domini” as well as Arlene Sierra’s “Aquilo.” Performance {…}
(Credit: Bill Cooper/Royal Opera) Christof Loy’s Olivier Award-winning production of Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde” returns to The Royal Opera, Covent Garden on April 27, 2020. The revival production is set to star Wagnerian Swedish tenor Michael Weinius and German soprano Ricarda Merbeth making their Royal Opera debuts. The two will be joined by German bass Franz-Josef Selig as King Marke {…}
(Photo Credit: © Semperoper Dresden/Matthias Creutziger ) The Semperoper Dresden has announced that Soprano Francesca Dotto will replace soprano Iulia Maria Dan in the role of Fiordiligi in Mozart and Da Ponte’s “Così Fan Tutte” on Feb. 11, 21 and 24, 2020. Dotto recently performed the roles of Violetta in Verdi’s “La Traviata,” Liù in Puccini’s “Turandot” and Donna Anna {…}
The Indianapolis Opera is set to present Mozart and Da Ponte’s “Don Giovanni” starting on March 20, 2020. The opera will run for three performances through March 21 and 22 at “The Toby” Theater at Newfields. Eric McKeever will take on the title role with Kirsten Chambers taking on the role of Donna Anna. Ben Werley will be Don Ottavio {…}
(Photo Credit: Marco Borggreve) French conductor Ariane Matiakh has terminated her contract as the General Music Director of the Staatskapelle and Opera Halle. In a statement, the company noted, “Theatre, Opera and Orchestra GmbH Halle and Ms. Ariane Matiakh have agreed to cancel the contract of the General Music Director of the Staatskapelle Halle on 01.31.2929 at the request of {…}
(Credit: Louise Leblanc / Quebec Opera) The Metropolitan Opera has announced that Evgeny Nikitin will sing the title role in all performances of the new production of Wagner’s “Der Fliegende Holländer.” Nikitin made his Met debut in 2002 in “War and Peace” and has since performed in productions of “Elektra,” “Boris Godunov,” “Parsifal,” “Tristan Und Isolde,” and “Götterdämmerung.” He recently {…}
(Credit: Pedro Walter) The city of Tequila in Mexico is set to create a theater named in honor of Plácido Domingo. According to Codalario, the project will be created by Opera Studio Beckmann and, according to its general director Benito Rodriguez, the theater shall be ready in two to three years, with a hall for around 900 people. The Teatro {…}
The Houston Grand Opera has announced the finalists for the Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers’ Concert of Arias. The performance, which will take place on Feb. 7, 2020 at the Wortham Theater Center, is set to feature sopranos Tatiana Carlos, Murella Parton, and Rachel Shaughnessy; mezzo-sopranos Sun-Ly Pierce and Isabel Signoret; tenor Angel Romero; bass-baritone Laureano Quant; and bass {…}
(Credit: Image provided by Mid-Wales Opera) Mid-Wales Opera is set to present a tour of “The Marriage of Figaro” starting on Feb. 29, 2020 in Hafren, Newtown. The tour will take the company through Brecon, Mold, Bangor, and Newport, among other locations for a grand total of nine performances between Feb. 29 and March 28, 2020. The Mozart and Da {…}
