LA Opera Off Grand and The Broad Stage will present a double bill of one-act operas by composer-librettist Gordon Getty. The double bill, dubbed “Scare Pair” the composer-librettist, will include “The Usher House” and “The Canterville Ghost.” Conducted by Sara Jobin, the incoming artistic director of the Center for Contemporary Opera, the production will be directed by Brian Staufenbiel. “The Usher House” will star {…}
The Deutsche Oper Berlin has long been a mecca for iconoclast regie theater directors ranging from Hans Neuenfels and Claus Guth to Ole Anders Tandberg, whose recent staging of “Carmen” had more viscera on the stage than verismo. Curiously, the extant production of “La Traviata” by the former Deutsche Oper Intendant Götz Friedrich, dating back to 1999, is surprisingly uncontroversial. In his {…}
Emőke Baráth has signed an exclusive contract with Erato. The Hungarian soprano is set to release her first solo project early next season and will include music from the Venetian Baroque era including Barbara Strozzi, Francesco Cavalli, and Antonio Cesti. The album will see her reunited with “Il Pomo d’Oro,” conducted by harpsichordist Francesco Corti. Baráth is no stranger to {…}
Soprano Elsa Dreisig has signed an exclusive recording contract with Erato. The Franco-Danish soprano will release her debut album in October 2018 showcasing dual portraits of opera heroines from Juliette to Salomé. The program will delve into characters explored by more than one composer. Those will include Salomé of Massenet and Richard Strauss, the Manon of Massenet and Puccini, and Gounod’s Juliette illuminated {…}
Anna Netrebko is set to open the Teatro alla Scala during the 2019-20 season. According to La Reppublica, the soprano will return to the theater in a new production of Puccini’s “Tosca” alongside Luca Salsi with whom she worked with on “Andrea Chénier” and “Aida” in Salzburg. Riccardo Chailly will conduct the production. The news comes after La Scala announced {…}
Aleksandra Kurzak has signed a contract to record with Sony Classical. The company announced that the Polish soprano, who was formerly with Decca, will release her first recording under the new contract this autumn. That album will be a duets recording with her husband Roberto Alagna, who signed with Sony back in January. Kurzak will also record a solo album set {…}
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! Raise your hands if you {…}
The weekend is here and that means we have selections that we believe you can not miss. Here is a round up of five operas that include major superstars and rarely performed works. Rigoletto – Wiener Staatsoper, Austria Juan Diego Flórez and Aida Garifullina sing Verdi’s ever-popular opera with Paolo Rumetz singing the title role. Ryan Speedo Green and Elena {…}
With Memorial Day Weekend now past, more opera companies are back in business. This weekend’s offerings feature a wide range of repertoire, including two major continental premieres. Here are our recommendations (in alphabetical order by company). La Favorita – New Amsterdam Opera The New Amsterdam Opera showcases a rare performance of Donizetti’s “La Favorite,” which will be dedicated to the {…}
On May 22, 2018, Roven Records celebrated the release of its newest album, “Remember,” with a recital and launch party at Carnegie Hall. The album features work from composers such as Benjamin C.S. Boyle, Jake Heggie, Jennifer Higdon, Lori Laitman, and Glen Roven; all performed by some of opera’s most promising young baritones. In describing what makes the baritone voice {…}
Everyone knows her as “Flicka.” It’s a fun nickname that embodies exactly what makes Frederica Von Stade such a well-liked figure in the opera world. A consummate professional with a smashing personality, Von Stade, who was born on June 1, 1945, grew up in New Jersey and attended the Mannes College of Music. In 1970, she made her Metropolitan Opera {…}