A few years ago, Amanda Majeski got the opportunity of a lifetime. Most singers wait a ton of time before getting a shot at opening the Metropolitan Opera season. Many singers never get that opportunity at all. But there was Majeski on Sept. 22, 2014. Richard Eyre’s massive set for “Le Nozze di Figaro” was rotating to reveal the Countess’ {…}
“Opera Meets Film” is a feature dedicated to exploring the way that opera has been employed in cinema. We will select a section or a film in its entirety, highlighting the impact that utilizing the operatic form or sections from an opera can alter our perception of a film that we are viewing. This week’s installment we will take a {…}
The Oper Leipzig has announced its 2018-19 season with multiple new productions, concert performances, and revivals. It will also feature a number of international stars, as well as ensemble singers, that will perform some of the greatest operatic masterpieces in the repertoire. New Productions Karine Babajanyan and Anja Kampe headline a new production of Puccini’s “La Fanciulla del West” with {…}
Bryan Hymel has canceled his second performance of Verdi’s “Les Vêpres Siciliennes.” The Bayerische Staatsoper announced via Twitter that due to illness Hymel would not be able to perform. As a result, Leonardo Caimi will fill-in as Henri singing his first fully staged performance of the work in Munich. During the opening night performance of the production, Hymel lost his {…}
Deutsche Grammophon has announced that conductor Daniel Barenboim has signed a new and exclusive contract with the company. The new partnership will include work with the Staatskapelle Berlin, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, the Boulez Ensemble, and members of the Barenboim-Said Akademie. Many of his recordings will be made in the flexible space of the Boulez Saal, home to the Barenboim-Said Akademie, {…}
Verdi’s “Macbeth,” simply put, is one of the operas that defines his early period. The work, which had its world premiere on March 14, 1847, didn’t go as planned. Being a lover of Shakespeare, the composer put everything he could into making it one of his finest works. In its first version, it flopped and some even called into question {…}
Anywhere you look these days, you might find some major opera company programming “As One,” an opera by composer Laura Kaminsky and written by noted librettist Mark Campbell and filmmaker Kimberly Reed. The work, which depicts the journey of transformation for a transgender woman has mystified and engaged numerous audiences around the United States since it world premiere on Sept. {…}
As Professor Higgins insisted, diction is everything. If one mentions the word “Rinaldo” in Madrid without clearly articulating the letter “i” as an Italianate “ee,” locals invariably start talking about the football superstar from the Stadio Bernabeu rather than an obscure baroque opera in the National Auditorium. Obviously Handel’s “Rinaldo” is a different pitch altogether, although ambiguity is still inherent. {…}
Soprano Lianna Haroutounian will no longer sing the role of “Aida” at the Teatro Real. The soprano, who was expected to perform the title role in the third cast of the production, has been replaced by Ana Lucrecia García. The Teatro Real gave no explanation for the change but it is the latest in a line of changes that have {…}
Ermonela Jaho has canceled tonight’s performance of “Madama Butterfly.” The Metropolitan Opera announced via Twitter that due to illness Jaho would not be able to perform. As a result, Inna Dukach will sing the role of Cio-Cio-San, making her Met debut. Dukach, who has been covering “Madama Butterfly” since the fall, sang the role of Cio-Cio-San in Anchorage and Atlanta. {…}
The Welsh National Opera has announced the world premiere of “Rhonda Rips It Up!” The new work, commissioned for the company, has been billed as “unlike anything previously presented by WNO.” The production will tell the story of the remarkable suffragette, Margaret Haig Thomas, who tirelessly campaigned for equal rights for women. The show will premiere in Haig Thomas’s hometown {…}