After showcasing a wide range of repertoire that will be showcased this fall in the United States, it’s time to look at the European theaters. With hundreds of houses around the world opening at the same time, it was challenging to put together this list. But after looking through several theaters, OperaWire has curated the must-see operas for this fall {…}
Ailyn Pérez is one of today’s rising stars in the opera world. She has slowly built her career with a varied repertoire that has shown her versatility and acting chops. In celebration of her birthday on August 15, 1979, OperaWire takes a look at some of the soprano’s milestones thus far. Operalia and Competitions While Pérez did not win the {…}
Opera continues to break records with this weekend’s ratings of Verdi’s “Aida.” According to ORF, the TV screening of “Aida” from the Salzburg Festival took a 17 percent market share this weekend. The reports noted that there were an estimated 473,000 viewers. The production starred reigning diva Anna Netrebko, Francesco Meli, Ekaterina Semenchuk and Luca Salsi. Riccardo Muti conducted the Vienna Philharmonic {…}
On Wednesday, August 16 the NY Choral (New York Choral Society) continues its Summer Sings Open Readings of beloved choral masterworks. This time it will present Mendelssohn’s “Elijah,” a beloved masterwork. The reading will feature Conductor Michael Ciavaglia with a distinguished cast of soloists. Hannah Spierman will take on the soprano role while Michael Kuhn will take on the tenor part {…}
Most people tend to have fairly firm stances on opera: they either love it or they just don’t relate to it. In part, this is because the style of music and performance can be an acquired taste. But it may also be because operas don’t tend to revolve around well-known tales. Ordinary musicals tend to be a little more recognizable. {…}
If you’re looking for multiple releases this week, only one major opera will come out. That, of course, will be a re-release that is considered a modern classic. Tosca Back in 2001 award-winning filmmaker, Benoit Jacquot, directed a cinematic version of “Tosca” with Angela Gheorghiu, Roberto Alagna, and Ruggero Raimondi. The film was a success and became one of the {…}
This week Aribert Reimann’s “Lear” makes its premiere at the Salzburg Festival in a new production by Simone Stone with Gerald Finley as the title character. The premiere will see Finley in yet another new role as he continues to expand his varied and unique repertoire. For years Finley has been a big proponent of modern and contemporary works, including the {…}
A romp, a fiesta, a “lotta” fun, and musically, young-voice rich – that’s West Edge Opera’s production of “The Chastity Tree,” the 18th century comedy, à la Mozart, by Vicente Martin Y Soler. One of the trio of Summer Opera Festival performances by the “edgy” West Edge Company, founded in 1979, as Commedia dell’Opera, then as Berkeley Opera, has added {…}
Steve Jobs would probably hate all the biopics that have snowballed since his 2011 death. However, the public just can’t seem to get enough of the troubled genius, especially at the Crosby Theatre. Santa Fe Opera presented composer Mason Bates’ and librettist Mark Campbell’s “The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs” to yet another sold out crowd on Aug. 10, 2017. Though {…}
Bruce Zemsky, a senior partner in the New York agency Zemsky Green Artist Management, died on August 6, 2017. The opera manager died of myelodysplastic syndrome, leaving behind a legacy of working with some of the top talent in the opera world. Among the artists, whom he worked with included Jonas Kaufmann, Pretty Yende, Anja Harteros, Ermonela Jaho, Nino Machaidze, Eva Maria {…}
After Petra Lang lost her voice during a run of “Tristan Und Isolde” at the Bayreuth Festival, Ricarda Merbeth stepped in, singing at the wings. Because there was no time to prepare the production, Lang moved throughout the stage while Merbeth sang the challenging role. The current production by Katharina Wagner stars Stephen Gould as Tristan, Rene Pape as King Mark {…}