“Les Contes d’Hoffmann,” or “The Tales of Hoffmann,” has always been a Metropolitan Opera favorite, receiving performances in every single decade since it 1913 debut at the big house. The opera returns this season, opening on Sept. 26 for nine performances featuring star tenor Vittorio Grigolo in the lead role and one which he has performed previously at the house {…}
German soprano Anett Fritsch has withdrawn from singing the role of Micaëla in The Royal Opera’s “Carmen” due to pregnancy. As a result the role will be sung on Feb. 6, 10, 14, 20, 23 and March 3 and 6 by Russian soprano Kristina Mkhitaryan, who will make her Royal Opera debut in the role. She recently sung the role {…}
Performances of Washington National Opera’s (WNO) production of Giuseppe Verdi’s ‘Aida’ are well underway. While the production finishes its run on September 23rd, there remains great interest, and for good reason. With set and costume designs drawing inspiration from Los Angeles-based artist RETNA, audiences will no doubt find much novelty in this classic work set within the ancient world of {…}
It is Hispanic Heritage month! The Latin American community has, particularly in recent years, been a major boon to the opera world, providing it with great singers and composers, and a number of great operas. As the first part of this weekly series, we look at some of the most popular Hispanic operas ever written. We are not looking at {…}
A Metropolitan Opera season will start with Bellini’s “Norma” for the third time in its history when Sondra Radvanovsky, who conquered the role at the Met a few years back, takes it on on Sept. 25, 2017. Radvanovsky will join a long line of famous sopranos that have taken on the opera with the company, beginning with Lilli Lehman, who {…}
Joyce El-Khoury will takeover tonight’s performance of “La boheme” in the role of Musetta. The Royal Opera announced that “due to scheduling changes, Romanian-born British soprano Simona Mihai will no longer sing the role of Musetta in ‘La bohème’ in the performance on Sept. 19.” The role will be sung instead by Lebanese-Canadian soprano El-Khoury, who is already scheduled to {…}
The Houston Grand opera has announced that the Wortham Theater Center is still out of commission due to Hurricane Harvey. The company announced the news in a press release noting, “We are very sorry to have to share the news that our creative home is still in great distress, and will take much longer to repair than we originally thought.” {…}
On September 22, 2017, Utopia Opera will premiere its production of “Hydrogen Jukebox,” a modern chamber opera born from the collaboration of poet Alan Ginsberg and composer Philip Glass. During the 1988 presidential election debates between George H.W. Bush and Michael Dukakis, Glass and Ginsberg felt they weren’t addressing the real concerns of the American people and this became the {…}
Opera Philadelphia’s new commission based on Peter Ackroyd’s “The Trial of Elizabeth Cree” came as a breath of fresh air; when I heard the announcement of its coming, I jumped in excitement at the opportunity for a female title character in a new opera. While the traditional canon of opera has plenty of operas named after their lead female characters, the contemporary repertoire {…}
Chinese mezzo-soprano Yajie Zhang has been declared the winner of the Netherlands’ 51st International Vocal Competition. The competition, which includes singers of opera as well as oratorios, came down to seven final participants who were either mezzo-sopranos or tenors, a result not often seen in previous years. In addition to winning the Grand Prix, and thus the overall competition, 25 {…}
Opera and musical theatre star Brenda Lewis has passed away in her home at Westport, Connecticut on Saturday, September 16th, as confirmed by her son Michael Asen. Lewis was noted for the adaptability which allowed her to swiftly learn new roles, making her professional debut less than two years after beginning voice lessons during her years in college. On the {…}