Canadian mezzo-soprano Wallis Giunta is the latest singer to be featured in a hair commercial. The winner of the 2018 Young Singer of the Year award is being featured in a commercial for John Frieda’s hair-care products. In the commercial Giunta shows off her already iconic red locks and talks about the importance of her hair in a performance. John Freida’s {…}
On Friday May 18, 2018, Kyle Albertson replaced Matthias Goerne in a highly anticipated performance of Wagner’s “Die Walküre.” The bass-baritone, who is currently covering the role of Wotan at the San Francisco Opera, agreed to perform on a short notice. However, Goerne canceled six hours before the performance prompting the Dallas Symphony to scramble for a replacement. As a result, Kyle {…}
Thea Musgrave is one of Britain’s most distinguished composers known for more than 160 pieces, including 13 operas, 11 choral works, and 21 orchestral works. Her work has been performed all over the world and she has garnered great respect in the classic musical world. And this week, she celebrates her prolific 70-year career with her 90th birthday. After a remarkable {…}
This Thursday, May 24, 2018, the Vienna State Opera showcases a production of Strauss’ late work “Capriccio” via its famed live streaming service. Per the official website, the showcase stars Anna Gabler, Markus Eiche, Michael Schade, Adrian Eröd, Wolfgang Bankl, and Angelika Kirchschlager among its cast members with Michael Boder conducting the performance. The performance kicks off at 7 p.m. {…}
It is now 50 years since the celebrated Italian conductor Tulio Serafin passed away. During an illustrious career that lasted over 70 years, he had a significant impact on the world of opera and on music in general. Probably he is now most clearly remembered for his association with the work of Maria Callas, and in particular their landmark recordings, {…}
He was wonderful. He sang with artistry. He sang with heart. He made you feel as if you understood even more than the words, as if you understood worlds when mainly you were listening to a foreign tongue, written by a composer of 70 years before, writing from within a worldview that hardly now exists. Jonas Kaufmann was at the {…}
As fate would have it, “Cavalleria Rusticana” and “Pagliacci” are more famously known as “CavPag.” The two works both premiered in middle May, two years apart (“Cavalleria Rusticana” premiered on May 17, 1890 and “Pagliacci” arrived in theaters on May 21, 1892) and have become virtually inseparable. A quick look at their corresponding histories shows many uncanny similarities and differences. {…}
Taking the biblical element out of “Samson et Dalila” makes about as much sense as setting “Madama Butterfly” in Botswana. Typical of many opera directors trained in the theater, Alexandra Liedtke seems to have limited understanding of Saint-Saëns’ music and even less about Lemaire’s libretto. As is often the case when a regisseur feels their genius may be unappreciated, Liedtke chose {…}
The evening was all about Mariella Devia. At the age of 70, and following a hugely successful career, in which she has performed some of opera’s greatest soprano roles in the world’s most famous opera houses, she is taking her final curtain calls at the Teatro la Fenice in three performance as Bellini’s “Norma,” a wonderfully appropriate role for the {…}
The Deutsche Oper Berlin had a problem for its final presentation of “Rigoletto” on Thursday night. The baritone Markus Bruck was forced to cancel around noon that day from his scheduled appearance in the title role. Fortunately, the company had a tremendous solution at hand. The Serbian baritone Zeljko Lucic was available since he was present to perform in “Nabucco” {…}
Dresden’s Semperoper’s production of “La Forza del Destino” showed how Verdi once again cut a big swathe in subject matter: the idea of fate, “schicksal,” “destino”, destiny, and its power over human emotions and actions. Prize-winning British conductor Mark Wigglesworth led the orchestra through the highs and lows of the tension in such a dialectic, never sacrificing the glories of {…}