https://operawire.com/how-to-watch-opening-night-at-teatro-alla-scala/
Today is opening night at the Teatro alla Scala and as every year the opera is scheduled to be streamed on the radio, broadcast on television and streamed to cinemas. So how can audiences tune to into the event? Here is how! For Italian audiences RAi 1 will showcase the video recording beginning at 17:45 Italian time while RAI 3 {…}
https://operawire.com/opera-meets-film-match-point-is-woody-allens-off-putting-love-letter-to-opera/
“Opera Meets Film” is a feature dedicated to exploring the way that opera has been employed in cinema. We will select a section or a film in its entirety, highlighting the impact that utilizing the operatic form or sections from an opera can alter our perception of a film that we are viewing. This week’s installment features Jonathan Woody Allen’s {…}
https://operawire.com/not-just-cavalleria-rusticana-a-survey-of-pietro-mascagnis-other-operas/
We all know “Cavalleria Rusticana,” the great masterpiece of Pietro Mascagni, who was born on Dec. 7, 1863. Unfortunately, that’s all most people in the opera world and outside of it, know about the Italian composer. It’s actually quite unfortunate, given that “Cavalleria” was his very first opera and that he would go on to write 15 total, his final {…}
https://operawire.com/stuttgart-opera-finds-venue-during-renovation/
The Stuttgart Opera has found a new venue as it undergoes four years of renovation. The company announced that the Württemberg State Theater opted to move performances to the city’s parcels sorting office while renovation took place. According to Musik Heute, the company will use the next four years (2017-2021) to run cost analyses and develop concepts and plans of how {…}
https://operawire.com/lawrence-brownlee-to-world-premiere-new-song-cycle/
Opera Philadelphia has announced a new song cycle written for Artistic Advisor tenor Lawrence Brownlee. The company announced that the song cycle will explore the realities of life as a black man in America and will be showcased in a special one-night-only event on Feb. 20. The cycle, entitled “Cycles of My Being,” was composed by Tyshawn Sorey with text by Terrance Hayes. {…}
https://operawire.com/obituary-soprano-nicoletta-panni-passes-away-aged-84/
Nicoletta Panni, the niece of baritone Giuseppe de Luca, passed away on Sept. 12 in Rome, the city of her birth. Her career lasted twenty years, during which time she performed on many of Italy’s most famous stages such as Teatro alla Scala, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, and Teatro Grande di Brescia. She also performed at the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera {…}
https://operawire.com/opera-profile-berliozs-la-damnation-de-faust/
Though not necessarily an opera in the traditional sense, Berlioz’s “La Damnation de Faust” is usually presented as such. The work, which features solo voices, full chorus, and orchestra is more appropriately described as a hybrid between an opera and a cantata, the dramatic freeness of the work making it rather challenging to stage as an opera. Berlioz himself called {…}
https://operawire.com/christian-thielemann-renews-contract-with-semperoper/
The Semperoper in Dresden has announced that music director Christian Thielemann will extend his contract for five years. The German conductor will be with the company until 2024. The new contract will begin on August 1, 2019, effective once he finishes his current one. Under the new contract he will conduct a minimum of 40 concerts including 25 opera performances. {…}
https://operawire.com/tiroler-landestheater-innsbruck-2017-review-la-gioconda-elena-mikhailenko-shines-in-controversial-but-effective-production/
Amilcare Ponchielli was unfortunate in being born after his time had passed. Although recognized as a talented composer, he developed a reputation for composing music which always appeared to be a little dated, with the result that his operas have now largely been forgotten and rarely performed, eclipsed by the greater talent of Verdi, and that of his pupils at {…}