Two rarities make up this week’s major releases. One is a world premiere recording and the other is a rarely performed choral piece. Both recordings have incredibly well-established casts led by two masters. Here are our recommendations for this week’s major releases. L’Ange de Nisida Donizetti’s rediscovered work gets it world premiere recording from a live performance at the Royal Opera {…}
The New York City Opera has announced the casts for its upcoming production of “As One.” The company revealed that the first cast will feature Blythe Gaissert and Michael Kelly, with Briana Elyse Hunter and Jorell Williams comprising the second of the production with American Opera Projects and Kaufman Music Center. The opera by Laura Kaminsky, Mark Campbell, and Kimberly {…}
This weekend’s selections run the gamut from a world premiere, the return of a famed but rarely performed opera (at least in the States), a superstar cast in a Mozart opera, and two other works by prominent composers. Here is a rundown of our top five selections of the weekend (in alphabetical order by company). L’Incoronazione di Poppea – Florentine {…}
On May 11, 2019, the Pittsburgh Festival Opera will host its annual gala celebrating Fred Rogers and his work as both television producer and composer. The event is titled “A Beautiful Night in the Neighborhood,” a nod to the theme song of Rogers’ long-running PBS program Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood which was filmed at Pittsburgh’s WQED Studios. Throughout Rogers’ career, he {…}
It has been announced that Vladimir Stoyanov will be replacing Luca Salsi in the Baden-Baden Festpielhaus’ Easter Festival production of Verdi’s “Otello.” The Bulgarian baritone will star as Iago in Robert Wilson’s new production, alongside Stuart Skelton in the title role, and Sonya Yoncheva as Desdemona. The production, which begins its run on April 13, will have its orchestration provided {…}
The Utah Symphony and Utah Opera are set to reveal a number of projects aimed at celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Golden Spike. The Golden Spike was the final spike that joined the rails of y7uAmerica’s First Transcontinental Railroad. There will be a concert with the Mormon Tabernacle on May 10 followed by performances by the Utah Symphony and {…}
New Camerata Opera has commissioned a short opera film based on the life of Julie d’Aubigny and has launched an Indiegogo campaign to help finance the project’s production. The opera film will be written by librettist Lila Palmer with music by Whitney George. The production will be directed by Chloe Treat with Paul Ashey as Assistant Director. Audio for the {…}
On Sunday, Mar. 24, 2019, attendees of the second George London Foundation recital of the season were treated to a wonderful display of vocal talent and theatricality. Tenor Anthony Dean Griffey, a regular on the stages of the world’s leading opera houses, and soprano Amy Owens, winner of the $5,000 prize during the 2018 George London Competition, were featured in {…}
Tenor Nicola Martinucci enjoyed a potent career throughout the middle of the 20th century. Born on March 28, 1941 in Taranto, he actually got off to a late start as a singer, kickstarting his vocal career in his 20s. He made his debut in 1966 at the Teatro Nuovo di Milano in “Il Trovatore,” the same year he won the {…}
Mozart’s “La Clemenza di Tito” has only had 45 performances to date at the Metropolitan Opera. Compared to other major works by the iconic composer, that number is rather low. The opera actually had its Met premiere on Oct. 18, 1984. It’s history with the company has been marked by a wide range of major stars in the three main {…}
The Edinburgh International Festival has announced its 2019 slate, which will feature a wide range of performances across opera, classical music, theatre, dance, and contemporary music. For this article, we will place focus solely on opera productions. The first of these is Barrie Kosky and the Komische Oper Berlin’s production of “Eugene Onegin,” which will feature Günther Papendell and Michael {…}