Pacific Opera Project (POP) has announced the productions for its 2018 season, curated by Artistic Director Josh Shaw. Opening the season will be Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” in downtown Los Angeles’ The Vortex theater. Featuring food and wine served to 70 tables, this delectable production is said to look like “Dick Tracy” meets “Boardwalk Empire.” POP’s production of “Don Giovanni” will {…}
It’s December and that means that most companies are gearing up for the holiday season with the shows they put on. This week alone is proof of that with a number of major companies turning to the holiday spirit to inspire their new productions. There is even one opera making a world premiere with the theme in mind. Shockingly, there {…}
The Bronx Opera has announced its 51st season. The company revealed that in 2018 it will perform Mozart’s beloved comic gem, “The Abduction from the Seraglio” on Jan. 12, 13, 14 and 15 as well as Carl Maria von Weber’s “Der Freischütz,” on May 5, 6, 12 and 13. It will be BxO’s fifth presentation of “The Abduction from the Seraglio” and {…}
The Chamber Opera Chicago has announced its holiday season operas. The company will present a double bill dedicated to celebrating Hanukkah and Christmas. On Dec. 10 and 17, 2017 COC will present “The Miracle of Light” by Victoria Bond, which received its world premiere last year. The opera will be paired with Gian Carlo Menotti’s holiday favorite “Amahl and the Night Visitors.” {…}
The San Francisco Opera is getting in the holiday spirit with two concerts on the War Memorial Opera House stage at the tailend of its 2017 fall season. The first of these showcases is set for Dec. 1, 2017 when multi-platinum New Zealand trio Sol3 Mio performs alongside the San Francisco Opera Orchestra in a holiday concert, “Christmas with Sol3 Mio.” The {…}
On Dec. 1, 2 and 3, Gramercy Opera will kick off its holiday season with the world premiere of “Dickens’ A Christmas Carol -The Opera.” It will be the company’s second mainstage production after its successful production of Purcell’s “The Fairy Queen” last spring. The new work is an adaptation of Dickens’ classic book by composer/musical director Felix Jarrar and librettist and stage director Brittany {…}
“Opera Meets Film” is a feature dedicated to exploring the way that opera has been employed in cinema. We will select a section or a film in its entirety, highlighting the impact that utilizing the operatic form or sections from an opera can alter our perception of a film that we are viewing. This week’s installment features Jonathan Demme’s “Philadelphia.” {…}
Donizetti is one of the fathers of Bel Canto, having written over 70 operas, his first work coming at the age of 19. Born on Nov. 29, 1797, the composer has become well-known for such operas as “L’Elisir d’Amore,” “Don Pasquale,” “Lucia di Lammermoor,” “Lucrezia Borgia,” as well as the Tudor trilogy, which has been revived by many of the great {…}
The nominations for the 2018 Grammy Awards have been announced as of Nov. 28th, 2017. This year’s list of nominees are notable for the inclusion of two works by Austrian composer Alban Berg, as well as the strong presence in the lists from the Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra. Also included in the nominees is Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky, whose {…}
La Fenice opened its 2017-18 season with an interesting and courageous production of Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera,” a production which under the direction of Gianmaria Aliverta aimed at producing a deeper reading of the work, one which sought to uncover the underlying structural political conflicts that led to the assassination of a political leader. Verdi and his librettist, Antonio {…}
José Razador, a Belgian-Walloon tenor of Italian descent died on Nov. 14 at the age of 82. The tenor started out as a soloist at the Liège Opéra in 1970 and went on to sing with Belgian and French companies for three decades. The tenor was well known for a wide variety of repertoire including leading roles in “Faust” and {…}
