Philippe Jordan has been tapped as music director for the Vienna State Opera position. According to the Associated Press, Bogdan Roscic, the incoming Vienna State director says he has signed conductor Jordan as the opera house’s music director. Roscic described Jordan as “one of the few conductors of note who focused on opera from the start of their artistic career.” {…}
Plácido Domingo continues his legendary recording legacy while a soprano-guitar duo comes to fruition. Domingo’s Macbeth Last season the legendary tenor-turned-baritone riveted Los Angeles audiences with his complex turn as Macbeth in Darko Tresjniak’s production. Now audiences can experience the event on DVD and Blu-Ray thanks to Sony Classical. Domingo was joined by Ekaterina Semenchuk who brought her voluptuous sound {…}
Ever since 2002, Anna Netrebko has been a mainstay at the Salzburg Festival, headlining some of the most acclaimed productions of the showcase. In fact, her productions have often drawn some of the biggest audiences due to her magnetic star power and brilliant stage presence. This week looks to be no different as the diva headlines another new production, Verdi’s {…}
There are a ton of Verdi tenors out there capable of dominating his major roles. But few are like Francesco Meli. The Italian tenor has made the works of the great Busetto genius his bread and better, performing such major works as “La Traviata,” “Il Trovatore,” “Rigoletto,” “Nabucco,” “Macbeth,” “Ernani,” “Don Carlo,” “Luisa Miller,” “Un Ballo in Maschera” and even some {…}
Martina Franca, situated in Puglia in south east Italy, is home to the annual Festival della Valle d’Itria, which is largely, although not exclusively, devoted to the presentation of obscure, neglected, and rarely-performed operas. Its stated mission is “dedicated to researching and deepening our knowledge of Italian bel canto,” and it is in this light that it selects operas and {…}
If you followed Operalia this year, you know that that title might read as, “What Every Single Operalia Finalist is Doing Next,” simply because Plácido Domingo decided that he didn’t want anyone to leave empty-handed. But this piece will focus on the two big winners of the competition, Adela Zaharia and Levy Sekgapane. Not only did they both win their {…}
From start to finish, Strauss’s “Elektra” pulls us into the dark night of the soul and its tormented landscape. There Electra does with us what she does to herself – rages, grieves, strains, plots and plans, and violates any chance she has for peace of mind or human freedom. If she thinks that such a prospect will grant her ease, {…}
For years Olga Borodina was one of the leading mezzo-sopranos in the world, singing in all the major opera houses and dominating the lyric and dramatic mezzo repertoire. She possessed comic timing in multiple Rossini roles and was a dramatic tour de force in roles like Amneris, the Princess of Bouillon and Laura in “La Gioconda.” She also brought brilliance to the {…}
The Operalia 2017 competition has come to an end with Adela Zaharia and Levy Sekgapane as the winners of the first prizes. I sat through the entire transmission, listening to a truly talented class of singers, many of whom already have the musical maturity and performance acumen to be major figures in the opera world in the not-so-distant future. With {…}
South African tenor Levy Sekgapane and Romanian soprano Adela Zaharia were the first prize winners of this year’s Operalia Competition. In the male voice competition, second place went to tenor Davide Giusti, while the third place award was given to Korean baritone Leon Kim. In the female voice competition, Russian soprano Kristina Mkhitaryan won the second prize while third prize {…}
For Luca Salsi, there is no composer better than Verdi. No one. Salsi, the Italian baritone, who is slated to sing the role of Amonasro at the Salzburg Festival starting in early August, has repeatedly professed that no composer in the history of Italian opera was able to fuse music and text with the same level of conviction and depth. {…}