German tenor Manfred Jung has passed away at age 76. The tenor is perhaps best known for taking on the role of Siegfried in “Götterdämmerung” for Bayreuth’s centennial Ring cycle and also appeared at the 1975 Salzburg Easter Festival under the direction of Herbert Von Karajan. He was lauded for his work and even obtained a prize from Orpheus magazine. {…}
Opera North and its music director are reportedly ending their one-year relationship. According to Slipped Disc, music director Alexander Markovic has resigned from the company. Per the company, “Richard Mantle, General Director of Opera North, has announced that he has today accepted the resignation of Aleksandar Markovic as the Company’s Music Director. Mr. Markovic will formally leave Opera North at {…}
Natalie Dessay may have retired from the opera stage, but her art continues to live on. And while she admits to never having felt comfortable on the stage, her performances show otherwise. Born on April 19, 1965, OperaWire takes a look at some of her unforgettable roles on stage. Olympia in ‘Les Contes d’Hoffmann’ The role of Olympia was perhaps the {…}
The Royal Opera House has announced that Dinara Alieva has withdrawn from singing the role of Liù in this summer’s revival of Puccini’s “Turandot.” The role will now be performed by Abkhazian-Russian soprano Hibla Gerzmava on July 5, 9, 12 and 15 Gerzmava made her Royal Opera debut in 2008 as Tatyana in Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin” and has since returned to sing {…}
People don’t often think about opera in New York as extending into the summer. With the major companies ending their respective season in May, the summer is generally the time most New Yorkers associate with other activities. But that won’t be the case for the second straight year with the New York Opera Fest set to take over the city. {…}
It has been a very worrisome time for Dmitri Hvorostovsky. The baritone, who has been battling illness, has now pulled out of his upcoming Dublin concerts “due to a change in the schedule of his cancer treatments.” The concert was originally scheduled for April 29, 2017, and was among just a few performances that the Russian star was giving after {…}
The Washington Concert Opera has announced its 2017-18 season with two Bel Canto rarities. The season begins with a performance of Bellini’s “La Straniera” on November 19th. It will feature three rising stars in their WCO debuts, soprano Amanda Woodbury as Alaide, tenor Gerard Schneider as Arturo, and mezzo-soprano Corrie Stallings as Isoletta. Also joining them is WCO favorite, baritone {…}
Olga Peretyatko has announced her new album for Sony Classical. The Russian soprano announced the news via Facebook as she posted a picture of the album’s cover art. alongside the picture she said,”Are you ready for my new CD? Coming very soon!!! Stay tuned!” No track list was revealed but based on the title, “Russian Light,” audiences can expect it {…}
Joel Revzen will conduct tonight’s performance in the absence of Robin Ticciati, who is ill. The Metropolitan Opera announced the news via Twitter this afternoon. The cancellation marks the second performance that Ticciati cancels as he was indisposed for Saturday’s performance. Revzen has been on staff with the Met Opera throughout the season, covering performances for such operas as “L’Italiana in {…}
The Metropolitan Opera has just announced a major cast change – Jay Hunter Morris will not perform “Der fliegende Holländer” this season. The tenor first became a star at the Met when he saved the day during the company’s Ring Cycle premiere, taking on the role of Siegfried when Gary Lehman canceled eight days before the opening of the massive {…}
Nadine Sierra is all the rage today after the announcement of her victory as the 2017 Richard Tucker Award Winner. That said, she isn’t the only one to make headlines on the day as the Richard Tucker Foundation also awarded a number of other artists with Study and Career Grants. For those keeping track, the winners of these awards often {…}