The Washington National Opera has announced the 2018 WNO Gala, which takes place on Sunday, May 20 in the Kennedy Center Opera House. This year’s annual Gala will celebrate Leonard Bernstein’s centennial and will feature Tony and Grammy Award-winning actor Patti LuPone, Emmy nominated singer and actor Tituss Burgess, Grammy winner Isabel Leonard, and soprano Kathryn Lewek. The gala will also {…}
Vittorio Grigolo is undeniably one of the finest artists of his generation. Born on Feb. 19, the tenor embodies what most would want from a leading man. Great looks. Tremendous acting dynamics. A powerfully resonant voice with both strength and tenderness. And most of all, he is highly unpredictable, meaning that every performance is quite an adventure. Grigolo’s artistry has {…}
The Vienna State Opera will be live streaming its presentation of Rossini’s “La Cenerentola” on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018. The performance features Isabel Leonard in the title role. But the superstar will also be joined by the likes of Luca Pisaroni, Alessio Ardiuni, Maxim Mironov, and Paolo Rumetz. Jean-Christophe Spinosi will conduct with Sven-Eric Bechtolf as director. The stream kicks {…}
Elizabeth DeShong is one of today’s biggest rising stars singing at some of the world’s greatest stages and performing some of the toughest mezzo roles in the repertoire. And this week, the mezzo takes on her biggest Metropolitan Opera assignment yet as Arsace in Rossini’s “Semiramide.” For years DeShong has been a huge proponent of Rossini’s music, performing it in {…}
The opera world has a plethora of great black artists dominating more than ever before. Taking the baton from past generations, the new singers have simply made their presence felt even more prominently than ever before. Whether it be redefining the ranges of both tenors or sopranos, or the awesome lows of basses and mezzos, this new generation is undeniably filled {…}
The Lyric Opera of Chicago has announced the cast for its annual musical theater showcase, “Jesus Christ Superstar.” The production arrives on April 27, 2018 and runs all the way through May 20, 2018. The performances are slated to feature such artists as Heath Saunders, Ryan Shaw, Jo Lampert, Michael Cunio, Mykal Kilgore, Shaun Fleming, Josepht Anthony Byrd, Cavin Cornwall, {…}
On Feb. 27, 2018, “Romeo et Juliette” will be broadcast in movie theaters from the Gran Theatre Liceu. The opera will star Saimir Pirgu and Aida Garifullina as the star-crossed lovers and will be shown live in Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Netherlands, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK. In a press release, Pirgu noted, {…}
The Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo is slated to showcase Kurt Weill’s “Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny” at the end of this month. The production opens on Feb. 27, 2018 with subsequent performances on Thursday, March 1, and Saturday, March 3. The showcase is a co-production with the Teatro Colón of Buenos Aires and Teatro Municipal {…}
Throughout his career Verdi had to deal with the censors and their efforts to hinder his operas. Nowhere was this more prominent than in “Un Ballo in Maschera,” which premiered on Feb. 17, 1859. The work was originally entitled “Gustavo III,” but Verdi had to change the setting from Sweden to Boston and change the character of King Gustav III {…}
Puccini’s “La Bohème” made a return to the Metropolitan Opera on Friday, February 16, 2018, with a cast that is slated for an HD performance a week from today. On the evidence of this opening night performance, that transmission the world over should be quite special. Zeffirelli’s production needs no introduction (though if you want some commentary, check out these {…}
In 2018-19, Jaap van Zweden, the current Music Director Designate of the New York Philharmonic, will drop the Designate part of that label. And if the concert on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018 is any indication, he is going to be providing audiences with some dazzling music for years to come. In a series of concerts that kicked off on Valentine’s {…}
