(Credit: Catherine Ashmore/Royal Opera – Antoni Bofill/Gran Teatre del Liceu – Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera) As we end the year its time to look back at the past 365-ish days and the big moments that defined 2019. It was a great year for numerous singers who broke-out and for established performers who took their careers in new directions or made important {…}
Arianna Vendittelli’s career is one that most singers would dream of. She has an established reputation in the Mozart, Rossini and baroque repertoire, singing at the highest level in such roles as roles such as Fiordiligi, Zerlina, Cleopatra, Serse, Eurydice and many more. Moreover, she has been guided by such venerated artists as Ottavio Dantone, Riccardo Muti and Alessandro De {…}
The Pittsburgh Opera is set to present Handel’s “Alcina” The company will team up with Chatham Baroque which was founded in 1990 and has continued to excite local, national, and international audiences with dazzling technique and lively interpretations of 17th- and 18th-century music played on authentic period instruments. The opera will showcase a cast that includes Caitlin Gotimer in the {…}
The Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Fundación Rogelio Salmona. The orchestra will perform Beethoven’s ninth symphony under the direction of Andrés Felipe Jaime with soprano Gloria Londoño, mezzo-soprano Jenny Andrea Orjuela Niño, tenor Pablo Martínez, and bass Valeriano Lanchas. They will be joined by la Sociedad Coral Santa Cecilia and el Coro Filarmónico Juvenil {…}
(Credit: David Ebener/DPA) Bayreuth Festival’s press chief Peter Emmerich has died. The Bayreuth Festival announced the news of Emmerich’s death who served as the press spokesman of the Bayreuth Festival for 30 years. Emmerich began his work at the Bayreuth in 1989 after working at the Semperoper in Dresden. In a statement, the Festival said, “The Bayreuth Festival is shocked {…}
Opera America has announced that it has awarded $220,000 to develop new American operas with seven different companies. The recipients of the grants include The American Opera Project and Seagle Music Colony, Beth Morrison Projects, Houston Grand Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Diego Opera, and The Dallas Opera. The American Opera Project and Seagle Music Colony are working together {…}
(Credit: Fay Fox) The Staatsoper Stuttgart has announced a cast change for Gluck’s “Iphigénie en Tauride” as soprano Joyce El-Khoury will take over the title role. El-Khoury will make her house debut as well her role debut in the upcoming run of Gluck’s opera. She recently sang at the Canadian Opera Company and at the Royal Albert Hall. She is {…}
(Credit: (c)Jay Patel) The Sydney Symphony Orchestra has announced that Simone Young will be the Orchestra’s Chief Conductor from 2022. Following a worldwide search, the orchestra announced that in 12 months prior to her taking up the role, Young will be the Orchestra’s Chief Conductor Designate. The conductor noted in a press release, “I am thrilled to take up this {…}
(Credit: Michelle Tabnick) The Baruch Performing Arts Center is set to showcase the New York premiere of the chamber opera “dwb (driving while black)” on March 19-21, 2020. The opera, which features music by Susan Kander and a libretto by soprano Roberta Gumbel, who also takes on the lead role. It will be directed by Chip Miller and also features {…}
After weeks maintaining the mysterious TBA in its cast list for its upcoming performances of “La Traviata,” the Metropolitan Opera has announced Vittorio Grigolo’s replacement. And the man to take on the role will be Italian tenor Piero Pretti, who Met audiences are just getting to know. Pretti made his Metropolitan Opera debut this season in a revival of “Madama {…}
(Credit: Jill Steinberg) Countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo is set to star in the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Chorale’s performances of “Aci, Galatea e Polifemo” at San Francisco on Jan. 22, 2020. The run of the show, which will feature eight total performances, is set to conclude on Feb. 1, 2020. In addition to Costanzo, this production of the Handel opera {…}