Giacomo Meyerbeer’s “Robert le Diable” premiered on November 21, 1831, and is among the first of the grand operas performed at the Paris Opera. Based on tales surrounding Robert the Magnificent, duke of Normandy, which claimed he was the son of the devil, the opera’s supernatural plot and dramatic impact made it an instant success. It had over 100 performances {…}
Despite fall’s chill blanketing Manhattan, opera-goers are delighting in the light-hearted comedy in Juilliard’s production of Mozart’s “La Finta Giardiniera.” Composed when he was just shy of turning 19, Mozart indulges in the fiery emotions that stir a garden party, gathered at the house of a small-town mayor. The opening scene reels in the listener while two maids whisper about {…}
On Friday, Nov. 24, the Metropolitan Opera will present Verdi’s famed Requiem with a star cast that includes Aleksandrs Antonenko, Ekaterina Semenchuk, Krassimira Stoyanova, and Ferruccio Furlanetto, all under the baton of Music director emeritus James Levine. Hearing the mass at the Metropolitan Opera is not a particularly common event and the work itself has not featured prominently in the {…}
Sumi Jo has had a fascinating career. Born on Nov. 22, 1962, the South Korean soprano has not only established an international career singing at all the major opera houses around the globe, winning several major awards and competitions (including a Grammy), but she has also seen herself in contention for an Oscar. In fact, she’s had quite the career {…}
The beauty of Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” could render any critique almost unseemly. After all, to hear that seamless music, the moments that turn transcendent — and then to cavil? I’d suggest that even a modest performance, say, even in the dense rainforest (echoing, of course, Werner Herzog’s “Ftizcarraldo”) would still, inevitably, move one. The score simply flows, with audience and performers {…}
Pittsburgh Opera has announced its next production for the year. The company will bring the contemporary American opera to the CAPA School Theater in Jeremy Howard Beck’s “The Long Walk.” The libretto by Stephanie Fleischmann is based on the book “The Long Walk: A Story of War and the Life that Follows” by Brian Castner. The opera is an exploration of a soldier’s return {…}
The New Amsterdam Opera has announced that it will present Donizetti’s “La Favorita.” The company will perform the work in Italian on June 2, 2018 in the Upper West Side. The company is currently looking to cast all roles including the lead of Leonore, which is considered one of the most demanding roles in the mezzo repertoire. It is also {…}
Rene Kollo (or René Kollodzieyski, as he was born on Nov. 20, 1937), was a renowned Wagnerian tenor. He took on every major leading role by the great composer, recording almost all of his interpretations to great acclaim with the best of conductors. His Siegfried was recorded with Wolfgang Sawallisch, his Lohengrin and Walther von Stolzing with Herbert Von Karajan, {…}
Sexual harassment scandals continue the opera world as British theater and opera director Ramin Gray has been accused of sexually molesting a number of actresses. The Telegraph is reporting that “independent investigations” are being held after actresses complained that the director has behaved sexually inappropriate to them. The Young Vic in London is currently showing “The Suppliant Women” which was directed by {…}
To wait for one whole act, plus a quarter of a second, just to glimpse the heroine, let alone hear her, is practically a crime. Especially, with all the talk. From the moment the curtain rises, what do we hear? Turandot, Turandot, Turandot. And so, where is she? On and on, troops of “the people” – boy chorus, various authorities {…}
This week, John Adams fifth opera “Girls of the Golden West” makes its world premiere at the San Francisco Opera. The premiere will mark the second time one of Adams’ operas opens at the company. The new work is inspired by the 1851/1852 letters of Louise Amelia Knapp Smith Clappe who lived for a year and a half in the {…}