Q & A: Conductor Damian Iorio on Taking on Mussorgsky’s Titanic Masterpiece ‘Boris Godunov’ & The Key To Connecting With Younger Audiences

https://operawire.com/q-a-conductor-damian-iorio-on-taking-on-mussorgskys-titanic-masterpiece-boris-godunov-the-key-to-connecting-with-younger-audiences/

Mussorgsky’s “Boris Godunov” is legendary. The work is widely regarded as Russia’s greatest opera, even despite its labyrinthine history of revisions. This week, the work opens at the Opéra de Paris in a production by Ivo van Hove with Ildar Abdrazakov and Alexander Tsymbalyuk sharing the title role. Alongside them will be conductors Vladimir Jurowski and Damian Iorio. While Jurowski {…}

Interviews, Stage Spotlight

Embracing Tradition & Moving Beyond It – Tenor Russell Thomas On ‘Don Carlo,’ ‘Otello,’ & How To Learn From Artists & Audiences Of The Present & Past

https://operawire.com/embracing-tradition-moving-beyond-it-tenor-russell-thomas-on-don-carlo-otello-how-to-learn-from-artists-audiences-of-the-present-past/

This Saturday, March 3, 2018, the Washington National Opera will be staging a four-act version of “Don Carlo” with a superstar cast. While many might turn to the likes of Leah Crocetto, Jamie Barton, or Eric Owens, for the star power, tenor Russell Thomas is poised to have a big night in his Washington National Opera debut. Thomas recently spoke {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Palazzetto Bru Zane 2017-18 Review – Le Tribut de Zamora: Gounod Bicentennial Year Off to a Great Start in Munich

https://operawire.com/palazzetto-bru-zane-2017-18-review-le-tribut-de-zamora-gounod-bicentennial-year-off-to-a-great-start-in-munich/

Charles Gounod (1818-1893) is probably best known for his opera “Faust” or perennial arrangement of Bach’s “Ave Maria,” which countless choir boys have crooned with cherubic innocence if not perfect intonation. In fact the pious Parisian composer was extraordinarily prolific having written twelve and a half operas (“Maître Pierre” was not completed), six oratorios, three ballets and countless masses, motets and {…}

IndieOpera

Professor Of Roosevelt University Selected For Fulbright Specialist Program

https://operawire.com/professor-of-roosevelt-university-selected-for-fulbright-specialist-program/

Assistant Professor and Head of Opera at Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts Andrew Eggert has been selected for the U.S. Department of State’s Fulbright Specialist Program. As a Fulbright scholar, he will be a Specialist in November at the Liszt Academy in Budapest, Hungary where he will study contemporary American opera from the 20th and 21st centuries of a {…}

Behind the Scenes, Interviews

Q & A: Composer Daron Hagen, Orson Welles & the Biggest Train Set Ever

https://operawire.com/q-a-composer-daron-hagen-orson-welles-the-biggest-train-set-ever/

Orson Welles is one of the most fascinating figures of the past century, his art among the most influential of all time. But one of the things few people know about Welles is that he was as much concerned about process as he was about the final result. In fact, some of his films, most notably “F for Fake” examines {…}

News

Renee Fleming, Gregory Spears’ ‘Fellow Travelers’ Headline PROTOTYPE Festival 2018

https://operawire.com/renee-fleming-greg-spears-fellow-travelers-headline-prototype-festival-2018/

The PROTOTYPE Festival has announced its 2018 edition slated for January 7-20, 2018. The festival celebrating its sixth annual showcase of progressive opera and music-theatre will showcase seven new presentations including three world premieres, two U.S. premieres, one New York premiere, and one work-in-progress. The Festival kicks off with soprano superstar Renée Fleming hosting the PROTOTYPE Soiree at City Vineyard {…}

Reviews

6 Reasons Why You Must Read Ryan Speedo Green Biography ‘Sing for Your Life’

https://operawire.com/6-reasons-why-you-must-read-ryan-speedo-green-biography-sing-for-your-life/

A year ago, the name Ryan Speedo Green might not be quite the household name that it has become. The bass, born on April 1, 1986, has had a whirlwind of a year. From his high-profile turn at the Metropolitan Opera in “La Bohème” to the release of “Sing for Your Life: A Story of Race, Music and Family,” a {…}

Behind the Scenes, Interviews

Q & A: Baritone Lester Lynch on Arranging & Recording Spirituals For His New Album “On My Journey Now”

https://operawire.com/q-a-baritone-lester-lynch-on-arranging-recording-spirituals-for-his-new-album-on-my-journey-now/

American history will forever be marked by its atrocities committed during the era of slavery. That wound remains at the forefront of our world today, even as the nation has made “progress.” Today we continue to see acts of racist violence in both outrageous and more subtle ways. Given this context, the need for conversation is at its utmost and {…}

On This Day, Special Features

Watch Julia Migenes Star in Film & TV After Her Famed ‘Carmen’ Movie

https://operawire.com/watch-julia-migenes-star-in-fim-tv-after-her-famed-carmen-movie/

Filming “Carmen” with Francesco Rosi and Plácido Domingo was a major moment in the career of Julia Migenes, potentially career defining. The American mezzo, born on March 13, 1949, had already put together a solid career prior to the 1984 film, starring in a film version of “Eine Nacht in Venedig” and the original Broadway production of “Fiddler on the {…}

235 search results for…