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Special Features

Analysis: Friday Nights with Yury Revich at the Theater an der Wien

https://operawire.com/analysis-friday-nights-with-yury-revich-at-the-theater-an-der-wien/

On any given evening in Vienna there are more musical performances going on than slices of sticky orangey chocolate cake being wolfed down at the Café Sacher. Opera aficionados and admirers of musicals can avail themselves of concurrent offerings at the splendiferous Staatsoper, the folksy Volksoper, the cosy Kammeroper, the recherché Ronacher and Raimund theaters or the historically pre-eminent Theater {…}

Special Features

Analysis: 2018 Leyla Gencer Voice Competition Istanbul

https://operawire.com/analysis-2018-leyla-gencer-voice-competition-istanbul/

Opera aficionados d’un certain âge remember Leyla Gencer with almost idolatrous admiration and no small degree of reverence. With the passing of time, most younger devotees of the lyric theatre have about as much knowledge of “La Diva Turca” as they do Maria Reining or Toti dal Monte. Born Ayshe Leyla Ceyrekgil in Istanbul sometime between 1918-1928, Gencer enjoyed a {…}

News

Winners of 9th Leyla Gencer Voice Competition Announced

https://operawire.com/winners-of-9th-leyla-gencer-voice-competition-announced/

Turkish mezzo Ezgi Karakaya is the winner of the ninth annual Leyla Gencer Voice Competition. She also took home the audience award. The second place winner was German-Italian mezzo Anna Doris Capitelli with Polish tenor Piotr Buszewski coming in third place. Karakaya walks away with a 12,500 euro prize while Doris gets 7,500 euros and Buszewski wins 3,500 euros. It {…}

News

Artur Ruciński To Replace George Petean In Chicago’s “Il Trovatore’

https://operawire.com/artur-rucinski-to-replace-george-petean-in-chicagos-il-trovatore/

George Petean has canceled his upcoming performances of “Il Trovatore” at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. The company announced that due to illness Petean would not be able to perform the role of Conte di Luna. As a result, Polish baritone Artur Ruciński, who will be making his Lyric debut, will replace Petean. Ruciński recently canceled performances at the San Francisco Opera {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

53rd Wratislavia Cantans Festival Wrocław Poland Review: Król Roger

https://operawire.com/53rd-wratislavia-cantans-festival-wroclaw-poland-review-krol-roger/

For many opera lovers appalled by the excesses of regie theater, concert performances are an appealing alternative. Singers standing in sackcloth and rags are infinitely preferable to Hans Neuenfels’ whisker-twitching “Lohengrin” rats or Claus Guth rocketing Rodolfo into outer-space in a South Park Kenny space suit. The problem is that as Richard Strauss and Clemens Krauss wittily explained in “Capriccio,” opera has {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Salzburg Festival 2018 Review: The Bassarids

https://operawire.com/salzburg-festival-2018-review-the-bassarids/

Hans Werner Henze’s opera “The Bassarids” received its first performance at the Salzburg Festival on August 6, 1966. At the premiere, Christoph von Dohnanyi conducted the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. English-American poet W.H. Auden and his partner Chester Kallman wrote the libretto based on Euripides’ “Bacchae,” one of the last tragedies of the great Greek dramatist. Within weeks, the opera was {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

The Crypt Sessions 2018 Review – Lawrence Brownlee

https://operawire.com/the-crypt-sessions-review-lawrence-brownlee-wakes-the-dead-with-classics-and-spirituals/

Now in its third season, “The Crypt Sessions,” continues to bring world-class talent to Harlem’s Church of the Intercession for a night of music produced by Unison Media. July 24’s concert saw leading operatic tenor Lawrence Brownlee, joined by pianists Myra Huang and Damien Sneed, letting loose with a variety of songs from Classical, Jazz, Gospel, and more. Brownlee began {…}

Interviews, Stage Spotlight

Q & A: Conductor Damian Iorio on Taking on Mussorgsky’s Titanic Masterpiece ‘Boris Godunov’ & The Key To Connecting With Younger Audiences

https://operawire.com/q-a-conductor-damian-iorio-on-taking-on-mussorgskys-titanic-masterpiece-boris-godunov-the-key-to-connecting-with-younger-audiences/

Mussorgsky’s “Boris Godunov” is legendary. The work is widely regarded as Russia’s greatest opera, even despite its labyrinthine history of revisions. This week, the work opens at the Opéra de Paris in a production by Ivo van Hove with Ildar Abdrazakov and Alexander Tsymbalyuk sharing the title role. Alongside them will be conductors Vladimir Jurowski and Damian Iorio. While Jurowski {…}

Interviews, Stage Spotlight

Q & A : Mezzo-Soprano Jamie Barton On The Challenges of ‘Der Ring Des Nibelungen’ & Verdi vs. Wagner

https://operawire.com/q-a-mezzo-soprano-jamie-barton-on-the-challenges-of-der-ring-des-nibelungen-verdi-vs-wagner/

This interview was conducted in collaboration with Francisco Salazar.  Everyone knows what Jamie Barton can do. And if you don’t… The mezzo-soprano has firmly established herself over the past few years as one of the finest singing actresses on the planet, stealing scenes and garnering show-stopping applause with her incredible instrument and dramatic interpretation. She’s pulled off some historic feats {…}