Angela Meade, Leah Crocetto & Steve Jobs Headline Seattle Opera’s 2018-19 Season

https://operawire.com/angela-meade-leah-crocetto-steve-jobs-headline-seattle-operas-2018-19-season/

The Seattle Opera has announced its 2018-19 season featuring five fully staged works. The season opens on August 11, 2018, with George Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess.” Angel Blue stars as Bess alternating with Elizabeth Llewellyn while Alfred Walker and Kevin Short will alternate the role of Porgy. Lester Lynch and May Elizabeth Williams round out the cast. Francesca Zambello directs the {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

New York City Opera 2017-18 Review – La Fanciulla Del West: Kristin Sampson & Jonathan Burton Lead Stellar Cast In Exciting Revival

https://operawire.com/new-york-city-opera-2017-18-review-la-fanciulla-del-west-kristin-sampson-jonathan-burton-lead-stellar-cast-in-exciting-revival/

The production of “La Fanciulla del West” that has landed in the somewhat unlikely venue called Jazz at Lincoln Centre — but really is the Rose Theater at the Time Warner Centre – would be notable for a number of reasons. It signals the opening of the second season of the reborn New York City Opera. Great news for someone {…}

News

New York City Opera Announces ‘La Fanciulla del West’ Cast

https://operawire.com/new-york-city-opera-announces-la-fanciulla-del-west-cast/

The New York City Opera has announced the cast for “La Fanciulla del West,” which is slated to open the 2017-18 season. Kristin Sampson returns to the company after an acclaimed run in “La Campana Sommersa” and takes on the title role in Puccini’s masterpiece. This season she will also take on the role Teatro del Giglio in Lucca, Teatro Goldoni {…}

News

Bruno Taddia Headlines Teatro Pergolesi’s New ‘Don Pasquale’

https://operawire.com/bruno-taddia-headlines-teatro-pergolesis-new-don-pasquale/

The Teatro Pergolesi is set to present Donizetti’s “Don Pasquale” in a production inspired by the 60s. The opera will star Bruno Taddia in the title role alongside Nikoletta Hertsak as Norina, Francesco Lucii as Ernesto, Daniele Terenzi as il dottor Malatesta, and Kevin Baliviera as il notaro. The new production will be directed by Italo Nunziata and will be {…}

Interviews, Stage Spotlight

Q & A: Composer Paola Prestini on ‘Sensorium Ex’ & VisionIntoArt’s ‘Make Make Innovation Festival’

https://operawire.com/q-a-composer-paola-prestini-on-sensorium-ex-visionintoarts-make-make-innovation-festival/

Imagine being trapped inside your own head for 22 years, listening to mental loops playing on repeat all day, without the ability to use your own voice. In composer Paola Prestini and librettist Brenda Shaughnessy’s opera “Sensorium Ex,” Jakob Jordan plays Kitsune, the central character who, with the help of custom-designed AI tools developed with NYU’s Ability Lab, is able to {…}

Editorials, Reviews

Tippet Rise Art Center 2026 Review: American Songbook

https://operawire.com/tippet-rise-art-center-2026-review-american-songbook/

Tippet Rise Art Center fuses music and art with a 12,500-acre working ranch in Fishtail, Montana. What began as a pipe dream for visionary pioneers Cathy and Peter Halstead — artists themselves — has become a place cultivated by dreamers who dare to use their wildest imaginations to curate the land. The Halsteads are founders of the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry {…}

Interviews, Stage Spotlight

Q & A: Frederica von Stade on Performing in Ravinia with Susan Graham, Doing Masterclasses & the Performances She Most Cherishes

https://operawire.com/q-a-frederica-von-stade-on-performing-in-ravinia-with-susan-graham-doing-masterclasses-the-performances-she-most-cherishes/

Mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade spent decades among the most celebrated singers of her generation, performing on the world’s leading stages, including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Los Angeles Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera Covent Garden, the Vienna State Opera, and the Paris Opera. Though she stepped back from full time performing in 2010, retirement {…}

Opera Meets Film, Special Features

Opera Meets Film: Duplicitous Love Behind Enemy lines in Hans Gefors’ ‘Notorious’

https://operawire.com/opera-meets-film-duplicitous-love-behind-enemy-lines-in-hans-gefors-notorious/

Joining the ranks of other screen-to-stage operatic adaptations, Swedish composer Hans Gefors and his eighth opera, “Notorious,” can be considered a contemporary grand opera. Spanning five acts — a number usually seen in French grand opera but also seen in Italian verismo including “Don Carlo,” “Robert le diable,” and “La muette de Portici” — the opera details the complex love affair between a {…}