Pacific Opera Project To Revive Harajuku-Inspired Production Of ‘The Mikado’

https://operawire.com/pacific-opera-project-to-revive-harajuku-inspired-production-of-the-mikado/

Pacific Opera Project has announced that it will revive its acclaimed 2013 production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operetta “The Mikado.” Josh Shaw will direct this exciting production, inspired by Tokyo’s hip Harajuku district. It will feature “eye-popping colors, intricate choreography, and zany antics,” along with Harajuku-style costumes designed by Maggie Green. Additionally, lyrics “originally written to take a jab at {…}

Opera Wiki

Opera Profile: Benjamin Britten’s ‘Gloriana’

https://operawire.com/opera-profile-benjamin-brittens-gloriana/

(Credit: Javier del Real / Teatro Real de Madrid) Benjamin Britten’s “Gloriana” is one of his unique works, created to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The opera had its world premiere on June 8, 1953 with Joan Cross in the role of Queen Elizabeth and Peter Pears as Earl of Essex. Gerain Evans was Lord Mountjoy. It is {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Seattle Opera 2018-19 Review: Carmen

https://operawire.com/seattle-opera-2018-19-review-carmen/

It’s been over 20 years since I’ve seen a live production of “Carmen,” so my anticipation was high for opening night of Seattle Opera’s updated production. Does absence makes operatic eyes and ears grow fonder? The boldly designed act curtain that welcomed us called to mind a giant, colorful yet tattered roadside billboard with the word “Carmen” in bright relief, {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

San Diego Opera 2018-19 Review: Carmen

https://operawire.com/san-diego-opera-2018-19-review-carmen/

On March 31, 2019, San Diego Opera presented Georges Bizet’s opera “Carmen” to a mostly sold out audience at the Civic Theatre. Kyle Lang was both stage director and choreographer of this thoughtful and elegant production that began with two male dancers, Laurence Gonzalez and Lester Gonzalez, as a soldier and a bullfighter dancing for supremacy during the the overture. {…}

Opera Wiki

Opera Profile: Mussorgsky’s ‘Khovanshchina’

https://operawire.com/opera-profile-mussorgskys-khovanshchina/

Modest Mussorgsky is best-known for the opera “Boris Godunov,” but he also created “Khovanshchina,” which had its world premiere on Feb. 9, 1886. The opera was written between 1872 and 1880 and upon his death in 1881, Mussorgsky left it unfinished. Rimsky-Korsakov completed, revised, and scored the work, though in years later other composers, such as Dmitri Shostakovich, Igor Stravinsky {…}

Behind the Scenes, Interviews

Q & A: Pacific Opera Project’s Artistic Director Josh Shaw On Reaching New Audiences With A ‘Pop’ Aesthetic

https://operawire.com/q-a-pacific-opera-projects-artistic-director-john-shaw-on-reaching-new-audiences-with-a-pop-aesthetic/

POP, the acronym for Los Angeles’ youthful Pacific Opera Project has a number of meanings. It can stand for Pop-up Theater (Pacific Opera Project’s productions can take place in a variety of venues and even at short notice). It can also mean “popular” (POP makes opera accessible for audiences whose principle interest might simply be an affordable night out). Over {…}

Interviews, Stage Spotlight

Interview: Tenor Stephen Costello’s Debut Double-Header

https://operawire.com/tenor-stephen-costellos-debut-double-header/

What’s a nice guy like the 2009 Richard Tucker Award-winner Stephen Costello to do when playing a character known for anger issues and a jealous streak a mile wide? Go for sympathy, make the audience empathize with “a lost person with a good heart.” That’s what Costello did for his role debut as Don José in the Dallas Opera production {…}

Opera Meets Film

Opera Meets Film: How ‘Colette’s’ Use of Bizet & Gounod Toys With Audience Expectations

https://operawire.com/opera-meets-film-how-colettes-use-of-bizet-gounod-toys-with-audience-expectations/

“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 Wash Westlemoreland’s “Colette.” {…}