London audiences will get reacquainted with soprano Maria Katzarava this January when the Mexican Georgian singer makes appearances at the Wigmore Hall. The soprano will appear on January 10 for the Rosenblatt Recitals at Wigmore Hall, a concert series that showcases some of the greatest opera stars of the moment. She will be joined by tenor Stefano la Colla and {…}
On New Year’s Eve many operatic stars will celebrate the New Year performing on stage. There will be many productions of “Die Fledermaus” and the Metropolitan Opera will present a new production of Gounod’s “Rome et Juliette.” However for those not interested in seeing a complete opera and interested in something lighter, many of the world’s greatest stars will perform {…}
Johannes Martin Kränzle may not have the world-renown name of many major singers, but he certainly has the experience and recordings to illustrate his strength as an artist. The baritone has a varied selection from which listeners can choose from, ranging from high profile video recordings to more intimate listening experiences. Here are some of his vital albums. 1. Alberich {…}
Francesco Tamagno, born on December 28 in 1850, had a tremendously successful career throughout Europe and America. But his single biggest moment, the one for which he is remembered, is for premiering Verdi’s “Otello” in 1887. The tenor was also one of the first ever to record his voice and those immortal renditions are a major link to the great {…}
Polish tenor Piotr Beczala was born on this day, December 28, exactly 50 years ago. In celebration of the tenor’s big day, Operawire shares 50 facts about the operatic superstar. Piotr Beczala was born on Dec. 28, 1966. He is from Czechowice-Dziedzice in southern Poland. He studied under Sena Jurinac in Switzerland. He is married to Katarzyna Beczała. Beczala is known for choosing his roles wisely {…}
Legendary actress Carrie Fisher died this morning in Los Angeles after suffering Cardiac Arrest. The actress created the role of Princess Leia in “Star Wars” and became a legend. She was also known for overcoming addiction and mental illness and wrote several books on her experiences. Her prolific work was inspiring to many people and just recently she had released {…}
For many, 2016 was a tough year for many reasons. There were many lost political battles, violence exploded around the world and many beloved artists and celebrities saw their lives come to an end. The opera world was particularly devastated in 2016 with the loss of many major stars, some of them rather young. The following is a list of {…}
On Dec. 29, Valery Gergiev will lead the Mariinsky Orchestra and Chorus, the Student Chorus of the Popov Academy of Choral Art and the State Academic Kozhevnikov Chorus of the Moscow Region at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Verdi’s “Requiem.” The soloists will include Tatiana Serjan (soprano), Yulia Matochkina (mezzo-soprano), Najmiddin Mavlyanov (tenor), Ildar Abdrazakov (bass). The company announced that the concert would “be dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Tupolev-154 air {…}
On Dec. 27, 1888, Raffaele Attilo Amedeo Schipa, better known as Tito Schipa, came into the world. Over the span of his 77 years, he would give the world glorious music in many forms. He was of course best known as a tenore di grazia, though he managed a number of Verdi and Puccini operas while conquering Italian roles by {…}
The Bayerische Staatsoper kicks off the New Year with a performance of Johann Strauss II’s popular “Die Fledermaus.” The performances gets going at 6 p.m. local time (12 p.m. EST) and ends around 9:20 p.m. with only one intermission. The New Year’s Eve performance is already sold out. The run, which features three additional performances on Jan. 2, 5 and {…}
The Houston Grand Opera has announced its Winter season for 2017 and it has packed many great operas with some of the leading singers in the world. The following is a look at the most exciting performers to look forward to this upcoming season. Andriana Chuchman in Adam’s “Nixon in China” A few years ago Chuchman made her Metropolitan Opera {…}