Q & A: Ukrainian Organizations on ‘Notes from Ukraine: 100 Years of Carol of the Bells’ Concert

https://operawire.com/q-a-ukrainian-organizations-on-notes-from-ukraine-100-years-of-carol-of-the-bells-concert/

On December 4, 2022, Carnegie Hall will host a celebration of Ukrainian culture titled “Notes From Ukraine: 100 Years of ‘Carol of the Bells.’” The concert marks the centennial anniversary of the American premiere of Mykola Leontovych’s “Shchedryk.” The English adaptation known as “Carol of the Bells” has gone on to become an iconic Christmas song. It premiered at Carnegie {…}

Opera Meets Film, Special Features

Opera Meets Film: Shostakovich Reimagined In Andrey Khrzhanovsky’s ‘The Nose’

https://operawire.com/opera-meets-film-shostakovich-reimagined-in-andrey-khrzhanovskys-the-nose/

Censorship. Repression. Scorn. Brutality. Humor. Absurdity. Hysteria. Russia’s relationship with self-expression has been a fraught one throughout its tumultuous history. Full of danger and hardship, with no guarantee that your vision will be seen, respected, or even tolerated unless it is confined to authorized narratives, music has always been that one art form whose voice is hard to control and {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Opéra National de Paris 2022-23 Review: Salome

https://operawire.com/opera-national-de-paris-2022-23-review-salome/

(Credit: Agathe-Poupeney) This review compiles performances attended on Oct 15, 18 and Nov. 5. When conductor Simone Young entered the stage to be applauded after her performance in Paris Opéra’s new production of “Salome,” some incipient voices started to boo her. The booers quickly realized their error; they actually wanted to hoot the staging team commanded by Lydia Steier. It {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

MasterVoices 2022 Review: Carmen

https://operawire.com/mastervoices-2022-review-carmen/

Photos: Erin Baiano If you were to walk down a street, stop a stranger, and ask if they’ve heard of the opera “Carmen,” more than likely, many would say yes. Ask the follow-up question: What’s it about? There may be some head scratching and faces scrunched in concentration as they try to recall … “Bullfighter.” Whether it was in an opera {…}

Behind the Scenes, Interviews

Singing Penguins – Composer Allen Shearer & Librettist Claudia Stevens on the Inspiration for ‘Prospero’s Island’

https://operawire.com/singing-penguins-composer-allen-shearer-librettist-claudia-stevens-on-the-inspiration-for-prosperos-island/

“O brave new world that has such creativity in’t!’ “Prospero’s Island,” the forthcoming chamber opera by composer Allen Shearer and librettist Claudia Stevens, tells the tale. Ninth Planet, in co-production with InTandem, will present the world premiere at San Francisco’s Herbst Theater on March 25, 2023. It is to be performed by a cadre of young and exceptionally talented musical {…}

Opera Meets Film

Opera Meets Film: How Andrzej Żuławski’s ‘Boris Godunov’ Shows Past as Prologue

https://operawire.com/opera-meets-film-how-andrzej-zulawskis-boris-godunov-shows-past-as-prologue/

In January 1989, the Polish film director Andrzej Żuławski released his film “Boris Godunov,” a film that cost seven million dollars to create. It featured a live production of the monster opera conducted by the eminent Soviet cellist and conductor, Mstislav Rostropovich. The film would re-conceptualize the opera in a mise en abyme (self-reflection) style, layering the operatic performance inside {…}

News

Pacific Opera Project Announces 2022-23 Season

https://operawire.com/pacific-opera-project-announces-2022-23-season/

The Pacific Opera Project has announced its 2022-2023 Season. The season opens with Donizetti’s “L’elisir d’amore” at the El Portal Theatre. The production from the 2017 smash hit production, is set in the 1950s. Performance Dates: Sept. 9-18, 2022 POP presents the U.S. premiere production of Vivaldi’s “Ercole su’l Termodonte” at the Highland Park Ebell Club. Performance Dates: Jan. 6-21, 2023 {…}

IndieOpera

Mesopotamian Opera Company to Present ‘The Tree’

https://operawire.com/mesopotamian-opera-company-to-present-the-tree/

The Mesopotamian Opera Company, Inc., is set to present a production “The Tree” this May. The opera, which features words and music by Peter Wing Healey, is inspired by the works of journalist Jane Jacobs. This opera unites addressed such themes as New Urbanism and Extinction Rebellion. The plot follows the spirit of a hundred-year-old oak tree, who falls in {…}