Carnegie Hall 2017-18 Review: Renee Fleming Builds To Pleasing Finish At Carnegie Hall Recital

https://operawire.com/carnegie-hall-2017-18-review-renee-fleming-builds-to-pleasing-finish-at-carnegie-hall-recital/

One of the world’s most loved sopranos took to Carnegie Hall again in a program equal in traditional and contemporary repertoire on Oct. 23, alongside pianist Inon Barnatan. Warming up, in a dress resembling tarnished, silver, chainmail by Vivienne Westwood, the first selections featured seven lieder by Brahms. It was not Fleming’s best moment as vocally it was unsteady and {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Vienna State Opera 2017-18 Review – Khovanshchina: Satisfaction on An Epic Scale

https://operawire.com/vienna-state-opera-2017-18-review-khovanshchina-satisfaction-on-an-epic-scale/

Mussorgsky’s epic masterpiece, “Khovanshchina,” like its predecessor “Boris Godunov,” is an exploration into a significant period of Russian history. However, whereas “Boris Godunov” focuses primarily on the individual tragedy of Boris, of a Tsar destroyed from within by his own personal demons, “Khovanshchina” is conceived on a far grander scale, one in which Mussorgsky seeks to lay bare the momentous {…}

Interviews, Stage Spotlight

Q&A: Saimir Pirgu On Italian & French Repertoire And His Upcoming Roles

https://operawire.com/qa-saimir-pirgu-on-italian-french-reperotire-and-his-upcoming-roles/

Saimir Pirgu is one of today’s top tenors, singing at every major international theater, including the Metropolitan Opera, the Teatro alla Scala, the Vienna State Opera, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Paris Opéra, the Berlin Staatsoper and Deutsche Oper, the Zurich Opera, Barcelona’s Liceu, the San Francisco Opera, and the Salzburg Festival. This season he heads to the Teatro {…}

On This Day, Special Features

The Famous Trouser Roles of Tatiana Troyanos

https://operawire.com/the-famous-trouser-roles-of-tatiana-troyanos/

Tatiana Troyanos is widely admired as one of the greatest mezzo sopranos in all of history. Her musical commitment and ever-insightful interpretations have made her a figure admired by all. Many great singers of today, including Joyce DiDonato and Susan Graham, have seen her as a major influence on their artistry, with the former going so far as to say {…}

News

Vienna State Opera 2017-18 Live Stream Preview: Plachetka, Röschmann, Álvarez Lead ‘Le Nozze di Figaro’

https://operawire.com/vienna-state-opera-2017-18-live-stream-preview-plachetka-roschmann-alvarez-lead-le-nozze-di-figaro/

The Vienna State Opera showcases its second live streaming event on Friday, Sept 15, 2017, with a performance of Mozart’s masterwork “Le Nozze di Figaro.” The performance kicks off at 7 p.m. local time and stars Adam Plachetka and Dorothea Röschmann as the Almavivas, Andrea Carroll as the heroine Susanna and Carlos Álvarez as her fiancé Figaro. Margarita Gristkova rounds {…}

Behind the Scenes, Interviews

The Diva Connection – How Shoperatic & Its Creators, Suzanne Vinnik & Sara Duchovnay, Created Opera’s First & Only Multi-User Marketplace For Singers

https://operawire.com/the-diva-connection-how-shoperatic-its-creators-suzanne-vinnick-sara-duchovnay-created-operas-first-only-multi-user-marketplace-for-singers/

It was 2013 and Suzanne Vinnik was contacted by soprano Zulimar López, who was looking to solve a problem that every female opera singer faces – getting rid of a bunch of gowns that were hogging her closet space. “I had also experienced the same issue with my over-stuffed closet in my one bedroom apartment on the Upper West Side,” Vinnik told {…}

Artist of the Week, News

Artist Of The Week: Krassimira Stoyanova To Bring ‘Lucrezia Borgia’ To Life At Salzburg Festival

https://operawire.com/artist-of-the-week-krassimira-stoyanova-to-bring-lucrezia-borgia-to-life-at-salzburg-festival/

It’s the final week of the Salzburg Festival, but before it concludes “Lucrezia Borgia” will open in two concert performances with a stellar cast that includes Juan Diego Flórez and Ildar Abdrazaov with Marco Armiliato conducting. But it is Krassimira Stoyanova that headlines the performances in the title role and forays once again into the Bel Canto repertoire. Throughout her career Stoyanova has {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

West Edge Opera 2017 Review – Hamlet: Solid Singing Can’t Overcome Opera’s Dramatic Deficiencies

https://operawire.com/west-edge-opera-2017-review-hamlet-solid-singing-cant-overcome-operas-dramatic-deficiencies/

Of course, it is impossible – to rewrite, even for opera, Shakespeare’s masterpiece. It is untouchable, even if the Bard wouldn’t have sized up the various Folios and Quartos and come up with a right-as-rain manuscript. But, for Ambroise Thomas, in 19th century France, (1868) to tackle the probing young man and make him sing for his supper – well, {…}