Best of 2024: OperaWire’s Top Ten Rising Stars 2024

https://operawire.com/best-of-2024-operawires-top-ten-rising-stars-2024/

(Credit: TACT/Askonas Holt/Intermusica/Natalia Jansen) It’s that time of the year. The end of the year. 2024 brought many debuts, many new productions, many competitions, many world premieres and many new young artists who are coming up in the world of opera. And that it is reason alone to celebrate. As the year comes to an end, here’s a look at {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Lyric Opera of Chicago 2024-25 Review: Rigoletto

https://operawire.com/lyric-opera-of-chicago-2024-25-review-rigoletto/

(Photo by Todd Rosenberg Photography) Lyric Opera of Chicago’s first season without erstwhile General Director Anthony Freud began as his last concluded: with Verdi. Lyric opened 2024-25 and John Mangum’s tenure far more successfully than last season’s dispiriting staging of “Aida,” with Verdi’s indestructible mid-career masterpiece “Rigoletto.” On opening nights, Lyric usually mounts either a new production or one new-to-Chicago, {…}

IndieOpera

Opera Laguna Unveils Fall 2024 Events

https://operawire.com/opera-laguna-unveils-fall-2024-events/

Opera Laguna has unveiled its upcoming projects for the fall of 2024. First up on the slate is “Ghosts of Laguna Part I: Ye Arch Beach Tavern.” The showcase features an opera in workshop by Pamela Madeson as well as several new works. Soloists include co-founders Oriana Geis-Falla and Arnold Livingston Geis. Catherine Miller accompanies the duo at the piano. {…}

News

Étienne Dupuis & Ewa Płonka Lead Washington National Opera’s ‘Macbeth’

https://operawire.com/etienne-dupuis-ewa-plonka-lead-washington-national-operas-macbeth/

The Washington National Opera is set to present a new production of “Macbeth.” The new production will star Canadian baritone Étienne Dupuis who makes his role debut as Macbeth and Polish-American soprano Ewa Płonka as Lady Macbeth. Australian-Chinese tenor Kang Wang will sing the role of Macduff and American bass Soloman Howard will take on the role of Banquo. Brenna {…}

Business, News

OPERA America Reveals 2024 National Opera Trustee Recognition Awards

https://operawire.com/opera-america-reveals-2024-national-opera-trustee-recognition-awards/

OPERA America unveiled its 2024 National Opera Trustee Recognition Awards. The recipients this year include Maria Lagios of Chicago Opera Theater, Claire Liu of Houston Grand Opera, William Miller of Opera Columbus, Leah Solat of Annapolis Opera, and Jennifer Suh Whitfield of HERE Arts Center. Meanwhile, the Association for Opera in Canada selected Tapestry Opera’s Brian James Dawson as the {…}

Special Features

A Tale of 3 Operas & Their Unique Revival Stories

https://operawire.com/a-tale-of-3-operas-their-unique-revival-stories/

(Photo Credit: LA Opera/Cory Weaver) Throughout time, many operas have been written which, due to the nature of things, distracts from their quality, instead leaving them behind for other, newer alternatives. However, thanks to opera’s dedicated fanbase, including everyone from laymen to academics to performers and beyond, many operas which didn’t get their fair shot are given new life after {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Opera Theatre Saint Louis 2024 Review: Galileo Galilei

https://operawire.com/opera-theatre-saint-louis-2024-review-galileo-galilei/

(Photo Credit: Eric Woolsey) Opera Theatre Saint Louis cultivates a justly deserved reputation for promoting contemporary works, having world-premiered 40-some operas in the company’s five decades, and staging many other operas born after WWII but perhaps not new enough to be labeled “contemporary” in 2024. The American legend, Philip Glass, made one prior appearance at the company—in person then, too—with {…}

Opera Meets Film, Special Features

Opera Meets Film: Multimodal Marriages in Daron Hagen’s ‘9/10: Love Before the Fall’

https://operawire.com/opera-meets-film-multimodal-marriages-in-daron-hagens-9-10-love-before-the-fall/

The nature of cinematography and (classical) singing is long-winded. From some of the early experiments like the acclaimed 1927 film, “The Jazz Singer” by Warner Bros, to the emergence of new giants like Metro-Goldwyn-Mayers Studios (MGM) and their copious amount of opera-laced films like their 1935 film, “A Night at The Opera,” opera on film has had a long development. {…}