Opéra de Lyon Season 2017-18 – Attila: Verdi Opera Rants & Rampages But Daniele Rustioni Reigns

https://operawire.com/opera-de-lyon-season-2017-18-attila-verdi-opera-rants-rampages-but-daniele-rustioni-reigns/

Giuseppe Verdi didn’t think much of political oppressors no matter if they were civilized Habsburg princes with good table manners or arriviste autocrats with one hand on the guillotine and the other in the till. Some of the least attractive characters in his operas ranged from pushy regicidal wives and vengeful Venetian psychopaths to homicidal high priests of Ptah and {…}

Opera Wiki

Opera Profile: Donizetti’s Greatest Comedy ‘Don Pasquale’

https://operawire.com/opera-profile-donizettis-greatest-comedy-don-pasquale/

Donizetti wrote his fair share of comedies throughout his career. While “L’Elisir d’Amore” remains his most popular by far, there is something to be said about “Don Pasquale” being the finer of the two musically and dramatically. Premiering on Jan. 3, 1843 in Paris, the opera marks the end of the 19th century opera buffa tradition. The next major Italian {…}

News

Placido Domingo, Jonas Kaufmann & Cecilia Bartoli Headline Salzburg Festival

https://operawire.com/placido-domingo-jonas-kaufmann-cecilia-bartoli-headline-salzburg-festival/

The Salzburg Festival has announced its 2018 summer festival. This season the festival will showcase eight operas in concert and staged performances. “Die Zauberflöte” will be the festival’s sole Mozart offering starring Matthias Goerne as Sarastro, Mauro Peter as Tamino, Albina Shagimuratova in the role of the Queen of the Night, Christiane Karg as Pamina, and Adam Plachetka as Papageno. Constantinos Carydis conducts Lydia Steier’s new production. {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Lyric Opera of Chicago 2017-18 Review – Rigoletto: Matthew Polenzani, Quinn Kelsey and Rosa Feola Dazzle in Verdi’s Tragedy

https://operawire.com/lyric-opera-of-chicago-2017-18-review-rigoletto-matthew-polenzani-quinn-kelsey-and-rosa-feola-dazzle-in-verdis-tragedy/

The Lyric Opera of Chicago opened its season with a fabulous collaboration with the Joffrey Ballet with the French version of “Orphée et Eurydice.” It was a sensational production, although the fact that Gluck’s work doesn’t really feature a great amount of singing perhaps left a void for some hearty Lyric operagoers. Anybody who felt that way certainly had their {…}

Artist of the Week, News

Artist Of The Week: Olga Borodina Returns To The United States For Her Dallas Debut

https://operawire.com/artist-of-the-week-olga-borodina-returns-to-the-united-states-for-her-dallas-debut/

Olga Borodina is one of the most respected mezzo-sopranos of her generations. She has conquered every international theater and has sung most of the major mezzo repertoire. And this week, she takes on yet another feat in her storied career as she returns to the United States for her debut at the Dallas Opera. Borodina will open the Dallas Opera in the role {…}

On This Day, Special Features

Rare Operas That Alessandro Corbelli Took On

https://operawire.com/rare-operas-that-alessandro-corbelli-took-on/

Alessandro Corbelli is one of the great baritones of the modern era, his refined bass style ideal for many of the comic roles that he has been so well-known for. Born on Sept. 21, 1952, the bass has become one of the great “Don Pasquale,” Dulcamara, and “Gianni Schicchi” interpreters of recent times. But what makes his an incredible artist {…}

Interviews, Stage Spotlight

Q&A: Saimir Pirgu On Italian & French Repertoire And His Upcoming Roles

https://operawire.com/qa-saimir-pirgu-on-italian-french-reperotire-and-his-upcoming-roles/

Saimir Pirgu is one of today’s top tenors, singing at every major international theater, including the Metropolitan Opera, the Teatro alla Scala, the Vienna State Opera, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Paris Opéra, the Berlin Staatsoper and Deutsche Oper, the Zurich Opera, Barcelona’s Liceu, the San Francisco Opera, and the Salzburg Festival. This season he heads to the Teatro {…}

Special Features

5 Operas That Could Lead a Mercadante Revival

https://operawire.com/5-operas-that-could-lead-a-mercadante-revival/

A week ago we remarked that in the modern operatic canon, the works of Giacomo Meyerbeer are non-existent. That is even truer for Saverio Mercadante, a composer who was famous in his time but has not seen his works achieve anything resembling a revival. Baptized on Sept. 17, 1795 (the date of his “illegitimate” birth remains a mystery), he was {…}