Claudio Monteverdi is by many considered to be the “father of opera.” His greatest works in the genre are among the first to survive, with one of them a major fixture of the standard repertoire. Monteverdi was baptized on May 15, 1567, and developed an extensive career first at the Court of Mantua and then at the Republic of Venice. {…}
With the New York Opera Fest 2018 officially underway, OperaWire will be showcasing small previews for each major participant at the festival, as we did during last year’s event. However, we are doing things a bit differently this year and giving the floor directly to each company to speak to you, the reader, directly. Enjoy! At this year’s New York {…}
This article was written in collaboration with Francisco Salazar. The Met season has drawn to a close. Overall, it was an interesting season, as any, with many incredible performances, so some solid, and some that simply didn’t connect. In drawing up this list, we sifted through the entire season of performances we witnessed to pick out the ones that either {…}
Decca Classics has announced the release of Verdi’s “Giovanna d’Arco” starring Anna Netrebko. The new DVD, which also stars Francesco Meli and Carlos Alvarez, is set to be released on June 15. The production was filmed from a run in 2015 when the opera opened the 2015-16 season and was the first production at La Scala since 1865. Riccardo Chailly conducted {…}
Jan Dvořák is one of today’s most innovative composers in the world. He has described his music as “somewhere between Bach, Wagner and Dr. No.” The composer is influenced by pop and rock, as well as some of the old masters in the classical canon. And this week German audiences are set to hear the world premiere of his second opera {…}
PBS will showcase Puccini’s “La Bohème” from the Metropolitan Opera as part of its Great Performances Series on Sunday, May 20, 2018. The broadcast will kick off at 12 p.m. EDT and will showcase soprano Sonya Yoncheva as the tragic Mimì. This was the second of Yoncheva’s big season, during which she appeared on three Live in HD broadcasts. Her {…}
At a matinee performance in the Warner Grand Theater, San Pedro, California, on May 13, 2018, Long Beach Opera (LBO) presented Swiss composer Frank Martin’s secular oratorio “The Love Potion (“Le Vin Herbé”)” as an opera. Based on Joseph Bédier’s early twentieth century “Le Roman de Tristan et Iseut,” the musical work was first performed in Zurich in 1942. Although {…}
Nadine Sierra is enjoying one of the most spectacular careers in the opera world. On this day, May 14, 2018, she turns 30, already having managed a historic career by modern standards. So in celebration of the big 3-0 we look at 30 fun facts on Sierra. 1. She is a native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. 2. Sierra trained at {…}
Soprano Daniela Dessì, born on May 14, 1957, enjoyed a tremendous career that was unfortunately cut short by an untimely death in 2016. Dessì studied at the Conservatory of Parma and Accademia Chigiana of Siena. She made her operatic debut in 1979 at the Teatro dell’Opera Giacosa in the opera “La Serva Padrona. From there, her career took off with {…}
For many, King Arthur is Britain. Deep in the history and literature, he stands as an icon of Britain’s essence – heroic, brave, mighty, magnanimous – the pinnacle of the good, even if flawed as even the noblest are. Henry Purcell’s opera, a.k.a. semi-opera, “King Arthur,” set to English poet John Dryden’s libretto, incorporates some of these characteristics while it {…}
Erin Morley will not sing two productions this summers. The coloratura soprano announced, via Instagram, that due to pregnancy she would not be singing “Der Rosenkavalier” at the Glyndebourne Festival and “Ariadne Auf Naxos” at the Santa Fe Opera. As a result, Liv Redpath will takeover at Santa Fe as Zerbinetta and Elizabeth Sutphen and Louise Alder will alternate Sophie {…}