Most countertenors make their careers out of singing traditional baroque repertoire. The voice type, so popular during the art form’s formative years, was extremely popular in its day with the major composers assigning leading roles to the countertenor. But that is no longer the case today, the countertenor is seen more as a novelty than a bonafide fixture in the {…}
Tenor Andrew Surrena will return to Sarasota Opera to sing “La Traviata.” The tenor will replace David Guzman, who was forced to withdraw from the production due to illness. Surrena, who last appeared in both Aida and Fidelio during the 2016 Winter Festival Season at Sarasota Opera, recently performed the lead tenor role in the world premiere of “Voir Dire” by Matthew Peterson and {…}
The Martina Arroyo Foundation’s 13th Annual Gala, a celebration of Prelude to Performance, Role Class and Outreach Programs, has announced its honorees. This year, the gala will honor legendary bass-baritone James Morris, rising star soprano Ailyn Pérez and Tony Award winners Chita Rivera and Tommy Tune. Rivera is best known for her work in “The Visit” and has won two Tonys and eight additional nominations. {…}
Victoria De Los Ángeles was one of the great sopranos of the 20th century, taking on a wide range of roles from “Madama Butterfly” to “La Bohème,” to “Manon.” Born on Nov. 1, 1923, the Spanish soprano would go on to a tremendous career, her recording of Puccini’s “La Bohème” under Sir Thomas Beecham widely considered the greatest of the {…}
On November 18, 2017, Hungarian State Opera will be performing Rossini’s “L’italiana in Algeri,” making it the first production of the opera ever staged in the city of Budapest. The production comes as part of Hungarian State Opera’s ongoing mission to bring new or rarely-seen operas to audiences in Hungary. The opera itself boasts a marriage of the humor of farce {…}
In a bold move, the Royal Opera House will showcase a rare production of “La Tragedie de Carmen” between Nov. 3 and Nov 14 at Wilton’s Music Hall. The opera, which uses passages from Bizet’s famous score is actually a reworking of the story to showcase a different angle that some purport is closer in line with the original novella {…}
OPERA NEWS Editor in Chief F. Paul Driscoll has announced the 13th Annual OPERA NEWS Awards. The magazine has announced that this year’s honorees will be conductor William Christie, mezzo-soprano Fiorenza Cossotto, tenor Vittorio Grigolo, soprano Hei-Kyung Hong, and soprano Sonya Yoncheva. The honorees will be celebrated in a black-tie gala celebration on April 22nd, 2018 at the Plaza Hotel {…}
Arnold Rawls will sing the role of Calàf in tonight’s performance of Puccini’s “Turandot” at the Metropolitan Opera. Rawls will replace the originally scheduled Aleksandrs Antonenko, who is ill. Rawls recently sang Radames in “Aida” at Opera Australia as Don Jose in “Carmen” at the Bergenz Festival. He has also sung “Il Trovatore,” “La Wally” and Verdi’s Requiem. Rawls has {…}
Following Donizetti’s death in 1848 the mantle of Italian opera eventually passed onto Verdi, something that today appears to have been a natural and uncontested succession. Yet, this was not so certain a transition as it now seems. A number of other composer also vied for the accolade, including a now almost unknown composer from Verona, called Jacopo Foroni. Hailing {…}
On October 27, 2017, Pacific Opera Project presented the world premiere of Brooke DeRosa’s “The Monkey’s Paw” along with a revival of Gian Carlo Menotti’s “The Medium” at the Ebell Club in Los Angeles. Brooke based the libretto for her opera on W.W. Jacobs’ 1902 supernatural thriller of the same name. The mystic tale, sometimes read in high school classes, {…}
The Vienna State Opera has announced a replacement for Dmitri Hvorostovsky in “Rigoletto” and “Otello.” Baritone Dalibor Jenis will sing Iago in “Otello” next March while Paolo Rumetz will sing “Rigoletto” next May. The news comes as no surprise as Hvorostovsky is still undergoing treatment for a brain tumor and announced last season that he would be retiring from staged {…}