Finnish National Opera 2017-18 Review – La Traviata: Less-Than-Spectacular Singing Saved By Roasted Almonds At Intermission

https://operawire.com/finnish-national-opera-2017-18-review-la-traviata-less-than-spectacular-singing-saved-by-roasted-almonds-at-intermission/

For an opera lover, dismissing the local opera house is a sin. For that reason, I make it a rule to attend several performances every year in The Finnish National Opera, a few tram stops away from where I live. This year started with “La Traviata.” This household opera brand is a sad three-act story of tuberculosis, bullying, and dying {…}

News

Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Metropolitan Opera Lead Grammy Nominations

https://operawire.com/dmitri-hvorostovsky-and-metropolitan-opera-lead-grammy-nominations/

The nominations for the 2018 Grammy Awards have been announced as of Nov. 28th, 2017. This year’s list of nominees are notable for the inclusion of two works by Austrian composer Alban Berg, as well as the strong presence in the lists from the Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra. Also included in the nominees is Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky, whose {…}

News

Michel Legrand Completes Long-Awaited Oratorio with Natalie Dessay

https://operawire.com/michel-legrand-completes-long-awaited-oratorio-with-natalie-dessay/

On Nov. 17, Sony Classical will be digitally releasing “Between Yesterday and Tomorrow: The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Woman.” The album, first conceived for Barbara Streisand almost 45 years ago by composer Michel Legrand, will follow Natalie Dessay through a story that spans from birth to death while capturing all the beauty therein. According to the New York Times, {…}

IndieOpera

Savannah Music Festival Unveils Lineup for 2018 Extravaganza

https://operawire.com/savannah-music-festival-unveils-lineup-for-2018-extravaganza/

Entering into its 29th year, the 2018 Savannah Music Festival (SMF) is poising itself for a powerful three weeks of performances as it runs from March 29th through April 14th, 2018. Not limiting itself to classical programming, the festival will feature, jazz, folk, theatre and film, all culminating in a final-day, multi-stage event at Georgia’s historic Trustees’ Gardens. “We’re thrilled {…}

Opera Wiki

Opera Profile: Gershwin’s ‘Porgy and Bess’

https://operawire.com/opera-profile-gershwins-porgy-and-bess/

George Gershwin’s folk opera “Porgy and Bess” has proven itself a piece of American history, having withstood the controversy it garnered for its portrayal of the African American community in Charlestown, South Carolina. Premiering on September 30th 1935, “Porgy and Bess” was noted for its casting of classically-trained African-American singers rather than having actors in blackface. While many felt the {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Teatro Olimpico Review 2017 – L’Orfeo: Strong Singing & Gorgeous Theater Deliver Memorable Evening

https://operawire.com/teatro-olimpico-review-2017-lorfeo-strong-singing-gorgeous-theater-deliver-memorable-evening/

No apologies are made for starting this review of Monteverdi’s “L’Orfeo” with a description of the venue, Vicenza’s Teatro Olimpico, which must count as one of the world’s most beautiful and architectural significant theatres. Designed by Palladio in 1580, it was described by Goethe as “a theatre based on the ancient model, but in small proportions and indescribably beautiful…”. Palladio {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Festival d’Aix-En-Provence 2017 Review – The Rake’s Progress: An Imaginative Production & Solid Cast Lend Insightful Reading of Stravinsky’s Neo-Classic Masterwork

https://operawire.com/aix-en-provence-festival-2017-review-the-rakes-progress/

“The Rake’s Progress,” an opera in three acts and an epilogue by Igor Stravinsky, was one of the six operas performed at this year’s Festival International d’art Lyrique d’Aix-en-Provence. Although relatively modern, compared to the classical opera repertoire (it premiered on 11 April 1951), Simon McBurney’s visually striking and infinitely creative staging gives it an additional innovative edge. English actor, {…}

Pride Month, Special Features

Pride Month 2017: Remembering the Great LGBT Composers of the Past

https://operawire.com/pride-month-2017-remembering-the-great-lgbt-composers-of-the-past/

This week we continue our celebration of pride month. We’ve now looked at some of the most popular LGBT operas and commemorated Harvey Milk and Stonewall. Now OperaWire looks at some of the legendary composers in opera and classical music who were part of the LGBT community. Some of these composers were unfortunately never able to be open about their {…}

Special Features

Opera vs. Broadway: The Contrasting Styles of ‘Madama Butterfly’ & Its Revival As ‘Miss Saigon’

https://operawire.com/opera-vs-broadway-the-constrasting-styles-of-madama-butterfly-its-revival-as-miss-saigon/

In Collaboration with Francisco Salazar Inside the plainly named Broadway Theater, one of Broadway’s largest houses with 1,765 seats, a wall of wood scaffolding and wood poles obscures the stage in place of the would-be curtain. The screens of wooden slats bleed seamlessly into stairways patched with corrugated metal, extending beyond the proscenium. This apparent slum, which is lit with {…}

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