Hamburg State Opera 2017-18 Season To Include Angela Gheorghu, Jonas Kaufmann, Kristine Opolais And Olga Peretyatko

The Hamburg State Opera has announced its 2017-18 Season with six new productions and four productions in the opera stabile series. New Productions The company will first present a new production of Wagner’s “Parsifal” with Achim Freyer directing. Kent Nagano leads an international cast that includes Andreas Schager in the title role and Wolfgang Koch as Amfortas. The production opens Sept. 16. {…}

Apr 11, 2017

Teatro alla Scala 2016-17 Season: ‘La Gazza Ladra’ Celebrates its 200th Anniversary With A Return To La Scala

On April 12, Rossini’s “La Gazza Ladra” returns to the Teatro alla Scala, the house where it first premiered in 1817. In honor of the opera’s 200th anniversary Rossini expert, Riccardo Chailly conducts the work in a move to return the Bel Canto repertoire to La Scala. Meanwhile, famed film director Gabriele Salvatores makes his La Scala debut. Salvatores is {…}

Apr 11, 2017

Metropolitan Opera Star To Sing ‘Aida’ With Verismo Opera

Raul Melo will make his Verismo Opera debut as Radamès in Verdi’s “Aida. Lucine Amara announced the news with the New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera which will be presenting Verdi’s grand opera, “Aida,” on April 23, 2017, at 3:00 p.m. at the Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood, New Jersey Melo debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2005 as {…}

Apr 11, 2017

Jonas Kaufmann Makes His Dutch Debut This June Previewing New Verdi Role

Jonas Kaufmann is a hard man to pinpoint these days. The tenor recently noted that he is going to curtail his performances around the world, limiting himself to European engagements for lengthy production runs. But the tenor is still slated to appear in numerous concerts around the world, including a June concert on the fourth at the Holland Festival in {…}

Apr 11, 2017

Metropolitan Opera Preview 2016-17: Renée Fleming’s Met History With ‘Der Rosenkavalier’

When she steps on stage this Thursday to take her final run of Richard Strauss’ “Der Rosenkavalier,” Renée Fleming will have closed a door to one of the roles that was at the core of her legacy at the Metropolitan Opera. The new Robert Carsen Production has a star-studded cast with the likes of Elina Garanca, Matthew Polenzani, Erin Morley {…}

Apr 11, 2017

Fun & Surprising Facts About Soprano Danielle De Niese

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 {…}

Apr 11, 2017

Sticking to the Score – Krassimira Stoyanova On Finding Musical Surprises From A Conservative Approach to Verdi, Verismo & Bel Canto

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 {…}

Apr 10, 2017

From Incest to Murder, Celebrating Opera’s Most Iconic Siblings

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 {…}

Apr 10, 2017

Aida Garifullina Headlines New Production Of ‘The Snow Maiden’

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 {…}

Apr 10, 2017

Teatro Comunale di Bologna 2017 Review – La Voix Humaine & Cavalleria Rusticana: Anna Caterina Antonacci Sets Tone For Fantastic Double Bill

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 {…}

Apr 10, 2017

Susanna Phillips, Stephen Costello, Elizabeth DeShong Lead Metropolitan Opera 2017 Summer Recital Series

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 {…}