Every opera singer has an interesting story to tell, but few can boast of the unique circumstances that have led Danielle De Niese’s establishment as one of opera’s international stars. Born on April 11, 1979, De Niese has established a foothold in the repertoire of Mozart and Handel with forays into the Bel Canto and modern repertoire. Here is a {…}
Krassimira Stoyanova is not your typical diva. Nor has she managed to carve out a career with the “expected” working conditions for most singers of her caliber. Since her debut at the Sofia National Opera House in 1995, the Bulgarian soprano has become a famed interpreter of the Italian operatic repertoire, singing at all the greatest theaters in the world. Her {…}
Happy Siblings day for all of you who have the fortune of having loving brothers and sisters. Opera is filled with brother-sister pairings that either work together toward common goals or fight with one another to disastrous effect. Let’s take a look at some of opera’s most famous and unique sibling pairings. The Mozart Sisters Dorabella and Fiordiligi are as {…}
On April 15, Rimsky-Korsakov’s “The Snow Maiden” will premiere at the Opera National de Paris. The Russian opera is slated to star Aida Garifullina in the role. The young soprano, who recently released her debut album on Decca will be making her debut at the Paris opera in the opera. The soprano is slated to return to Paris for performances {…}
Where one would expect the operatic double bill of “Cavalleria Rusticana” and “Pagliacci,” Teatro Comunale di Bologna instead opened last night’s double bill with Poulenc’s “La Voix Humaine” and Mascagni’s ever-famous verismo opera, “Cavalleria Rusticana,” appropriately placed with the approaching Easter season. La Voix Humaine “Voix Humaine,” set to music from Cocteau’s play of the same name, is described as {…}
Even though the Metropolitan Opera’s 2016-17 season ends in mid-May, the Company is not completely closed for business this summer. In fact, the Met will continue its 2017 Summer Recital Series, now in its ninth year, with six free concerts all across the five boroughs featuring some of the world’s greatest singers. First up are two recitals on June 12 {…}
The Metropolitan Opera Guild is currently set to auction off some notable pieces of its collection on two separate days in June. According to Christie’s the Guild will shop 90 lots of rare musical manuscripts, composer’s letters and other memorabilia on June 15. It will be an opportunity for potential buyers to get direct access to such famous pieces as {…}
“A lot of the time it’s just like jumping off a cliff because you don’t know how it’s going to go,” said Kimberly Feltkamp, the general manager of OperaRox Productions in a recent conversation with OperaWire. “I didn’t conceive of it as a company when I started it,” Feltkamp added. But strong reception to her initial project with OperaRox in 2015 {…}
Elina Garanča has been hailed as one of the great mezzos of her time and one can see why the moment she steps on stage. She is an imposing actress who personifies each of her characters to perfection and has a luscious and expressive voice. This week she returns to the Metropolitan Opera to end one phase of her career. The talk {…}
The battle against racism is growing these days and it seems that any action against inequality is drawing out no-tolerance responses from offended communities. Just look at what happened at the Calgary Opera this past week regarding its production of “South Pacific.” The company opted for casting a Tonkinese character with a white woman, leading to a massive overhaul of {…}
Two CDs headline the week ahead. One comes from a well-regarded mezzo, while the other comes from an instrumentalist experimenting with operatic music. Each release should have something appealing to opera lovers. Julia Lezhneva Julia Lezhneva experiments in her latest album as she continues to explore her operatic repertoire. The young mezzo has a new CD out for Decca that includes {…}