Everyone has a grand love story. Now Houston Grand Opera wants you to tell people about it. The company is making calls for love stories as part of its “Star-Cross’d” series. According to the company’s official website, people can record their story and include a line of “Roméo et Juliette.” They are then asked to upload their recording to YouTube {…}
Everyone says opera has no audience or that it simply cannot sustain itself in a culture that quickly rejects classical music for quicker hits. However, in Toronto, the indie opera scene continues to thrive today with 11 companies having formed part of Indie Opera Toronto. After having much success in 2011 with “La Bohème” on Tranzac Club on Brunswick Ave, the {…}
For years, Will Crutchfield and his bel canto program were a fixture at Caramoor. That will end next year with the arrival of Teatro Nuovo, a nine-day festival, created by Crutchfield to continue his passion for bel canto. The festival, which will bow in July 2018, will feature semi-staged productions of Rossini’s’ “Tancredi” and Mayr’s “Medea in Corinto.” There will {…}
Want to perform in a production of Puccini’s “Tosca?” Well, Verismo Opera is giving you the chance to do just that as the company’s Artistic Director Lucine Amara is inviting soloists in all vocal categories to audition for solo roles in the company’s upcoming production. Per a press release, the auditions will take place on Tuesday, June 13 and Thursday, {…}
This week the Teatro Massimo di Palermo opens its production of Massenet’s “Werther” with two tenors. The first is Francesco Meli, a well-known performer who has scaled the heights of some of the world’s opera houses. However, the second tenor, Shalva Mukeria, will make his role debut and that is a reason for celebration. The tenor has been hailed by critics {…}
This week three star-studded DVD will invade markets. The first stars Joan Sutherland and Alfredo Kraus while the other stars Plácido Domingo in a signature role. Finally, audiences will get to see rising star Aida Garifullina in one of her early triumphs. Sutherland’s “Lucrezia Borgia” The premiere release of the week is Joan Sutherland’s acclaimed “Lucrezia Borgia.” Opus Arte is releasing the historic performance {…}
Maxim Mironov has released his new album “La Ricordanza.” The young bel canto tenor Maxim Mironov is accompanied by Richard Barker, who recreates the atmosphere of salons during which Bellini’s life took place. The CD includes ariettas from Bellini’s early period. In a press release, the tenor noted “The idea of this recording came to me when I was visiting {…}
Haydn’s “Creation” is one of the great musical masterworks of all time, the ambitious oratorio relating the creation of the world as told through “Genesis.” Since its premiere in 1799, Haydn’s masterpiece has been a fixture at every major concert venue around the world, including some sacred locales around the world. This week, the oratorio will be showcased at the {…}
For many Richard Wagner is the greatest composer in the history of opera. The German master, born on May 22, 1813, revolutionized not only how opera was created, but he also changed the direction of musical composition, among other things. Everyone knows him for the 10 operas that he wrote, starting with “Die Fliegende Holländer” and concluding with “Parsifal,” though {…}
In just a month or so the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition takes over the opera world. The 20 competitors are all stars in the making, primed to be the next wave of operatic superstars. In the next few weeks leading up to the competition, OperaWire will take a look at each of the contestants and give readers {…}
Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci” has endured as a staple of the operatic canon since its premiere back on May 21, 1892. Leoncavallo was reportedly inspired to take on the work after seeing the success of Mascagni’s masterwork “Cavalleria Rusticana” and set out to write his own Verismo opera in one-act form. The result was a success that has often been associated with {…}