The opera world has been rocked by the sexual abuse scandal at the Metropolitan Opera centering around maestro James Levine. The topic was confronted head on at Opera Conference 2018 hosted by OPERA America in a panel titled “Confronting Sexual Harassment, Abuse and Assault” that tackled these issues that have unfortunately become much too pertinent in the opera world. The {…}
The World Cup is in full swing, but those looking for more opera should turn to OperaVision to see “Les Contes d’Hoffmann” from the Dutch National Opera and Ballet. The production is headlined by John Osborn with Nina Minasyan, Ermonela Jaho, and Christine Rice as the three heroines. Irene Roberts appears as Nicklausse and Erwin Schrott takes on the four {…}
This Saturday, the Vienna State Opera brings its season-long live stream series to an end with Verdi’s “Falstaff.” Per the official website, Verdi’s final masterwork will showcase Ambrogio Maestri in his signature role alongside Christopher Maltman as Ford. Among the other major stars of the showcase are Jinxu Xiahou, Olga Bezsmertna, Hila Fahima, and Monika Bohinec. James Conlon conducts Sir {…}
The Opera Orchestre National de Montpelier has announced its 2018-19 season featuring a vast array of repertoire. The season will feature established artists as well as rising stars. For this season announcement, we have only focused on the vocal events. Production Hervé’s “Mam’zelle Nitouche” opens the season with Laura Neumann, Damien Birgourdain, Samy Camps, and Olivier Py in the lead {…}
Opera is home to some of humanity’s most infamous villains: manipulative characters who lie, cheat, and steal, pillage and murder, and generally ruin the loves of the innocent, unsuspecting heroes and heroines that we all know and love. But conflict and tension form the bones of most great art, and opera would not be opera without the Iagos, Scarpias, and {…}
The Des Moines Metro Opera has announced its 2019 Festival featuring three mainstage productions and two second stage series operas. Michael Egel, General and Artistic Director of the DMMO noted, “Our 2019 season features a bold and exciting combination of titles both familiar and new. Building upon the power of sung stories as they can only be told in Des Moines {…}
The Maryland Lyric Opera has announced its 2018-19 season featuring two operas and two galas dedicated to Puccini and Verdi. Here is a look! The season opens with concert performances of Puccini’s “La Fanciulla del West” with two sopranos sharing the title role of Minnie – Susan Bullock and Elizabeth Blancke-Biggs. Music Director Louis Salemno conducts a cast that also includes {…}
Over the next few days, Santosh Venkataraman will be attending the Opera America Conference from St. Louis, providing us with in-depth coverage of some of the major events. Stay tuned! Patricia Racette recalled an email she got after the announcement was made that she would be making her directorial debut at Opera Theatre of St. Louis this summer with La {…}
Audiences in Bogotá, Colombia will be taken on a musical journey on July 6, 2018, when soprano Eugenia Forteza and mezzo-soprano Mónica Danilov join forces for a recital at the Museo Nacional. The concert, entitled “Viaje Musical,” kicks off at 6 p.m. and will include arias and duets from such composers as Bizet, Rossini, Puccini, Catán, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Gershwin, {…}
The Festival Opera of Walnut Creek is set to showcase a unique “Opera Experience” on July 15, 2018 at the Lesher Center for the Arts. The event, entitled “Love, Lust and Laughter” will feature three acts from three famous operas, including the first act of Puccini’s “La Bohème,” “the second act of “Tosca” and the party scene from Strauss’ “Die {…}
Jonas Kaufmann has been honored as an Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres by Thomas Vautraver, director of the director of l’Institut Français of Munich in the name of the Republic of France. The tenor was honored on June 19, 2018. Kaufmann was given the basic level of l’ordre des Arts et Lettres, the Chevalier, in 2011 and this honor has upgraded him {…}