The Mill City Summer Opera will kick off a summer production of Bizet’s “Carmen” at the Milly City Ruin Courtyard starting on July 13, 2018. The production, which will be directed by Fenlon Lamb, will star Audrey Babcock as the title character with Adam Diegel as Don José and Karen Slack as Micaëla. Luis Orozco stars as Escamillo. The production {…}
Opera Parallèle has announced its 2018-19 season featuring a world premiere, a continuing relationship with composer Philip Glass, the return of Rachel Portman, a pivotal new production, and the annual Up Close and Parallèle gala. Productions The season opens with Philip Glass’ “In the Penal Colony” in a new production in collaboration with the Day and Nights Festival. Nicole Paiement conducts a new production by Brian Staufenbiel starring {…}
The Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León has announced its 2018-19 season, featuring a number of symphonic concerts and some the world’s greatest opera singers. For this season announcement, we will only focus on the vocal highlights. Performances The season opens with Katherine Broderick performing “Porgi Amor” from Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro” and Strauss’ “Four Last Songs.” Andrew Gourlay {…}
Christopher Purves follows up his successful Handel aria recording with a second volume entitled “Handel’s Finest Arias Volume 2.” The second album will include an array of lesser-known Handel works, including the virtuoso tour de force “Nell’ africane selve,” which brings the charismatic British baritone’s remarkable technique and vocal range powerfully to the fore. Jonathan Cohen will conduct the Arcangelo in an {…}
The New York City Opera celebrates Pride Month for the second year, continuing its initiative to diversify and represent diverse cultures. This season it will present the American premiere of “Brokeback Mountain” starring Daniel Okulitch, who created the opera role of Ennis del Mar at the Teatro Real de Madrid. When Okulitch sang the first production in 2014, he earned rave {…}
This review is for the performance on Saturday, May 26, 2018. Within the intimate space of the Riverside Theatre, Amore Opera’s production of “La Traviata” brought to the surface comedic moments hidden within Francesco Maria Piave’s libretto. While this work is not one I normally would expect humor from, this approach added to the emotional investment in the audience, as {…}
Verdi’s “La Traviata” will be the first opera to live stream from the Vienna State Opera in the month of June as the performance on the first will get a broadcast around the globe. Per the official website, Irina Lungu stars as Violetta with Pavol Breslik as Alfredo and Plácido Domingo as Germont. Marco Armiliato conducts the Jean-Francois Sivadier production. {…}
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! One of the most hotly {…}
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau was one of the most versatile musicians in the history of classical music. Born on May 28, 1925, he performed opera, lieder, and oratorio in a wide range of languages and in any article regarding his stature always describes him as one of the greatest of all time or most influential. In fact, per Classic CD’s 1999 poll, {…}
Elena Souliotis was one of the greatest opera singers to come out of Greece. Born on May 28, 1943, she grew up in Argentina and went on to study with legendary teacher Mercedes Llopart. She made her debut in 1964 in Naples as Santuzza in “Cavalleria Rusticana” and then headed to the US to appear in “Mefistofele” in Chicago. In {…}
It is not too difficult to stage Verdi’s ever-popular tear-jerker “La Traviata.” Francesco Maria Piave’s libretto and stage directions are so detailed any director with access to a few lengths of velvet and some stock chandeliers can create a plausible mis-en-scène to serve Verdi’s marvelous, emotive music. French director Jean-François Sivadier, whose operatic resumé is shorter than a Rossini semiquaver, {…}