Oper Graz 2018-19 Review: Król Roger

https://operawire.com/oper-graz-2018-19-review-krol-roger/

To paraphrase Shakespeare “an opera by any other name would sound as sweet.” There are multiple nomenclatures for the lyric theatre ranging A-Z from “Azione teatrale” to “Zarzuela.” Not to forget Wagner’s singular appellation of “Parsifal” as a “Bühnenweihfestspiel” or Richard Strauss’ designation of “Capriccio” as a “Konversationsstück für Musik.” Karol Szymanowski stands unique in that the original description of {…}

Opera Wiki

Artist Profile: Lotte Lehmann, A Celebrated German-American Soprano

https://operawire.com/artist-profile-lotte-lehmann-a-celebrated-german-american-soprano/

Charlotte “Lotte” Lehmann was one of the great interpreters of the German repertory. Born on February 27, 1888 in Perleberg, she was encouraged by her father to take up a more “practical” career, but she was determined to study singing. After some troubling experiences finding a suitable instructor, she finally found Mathilde Mallinger to teach her. After less than a {…}

News

Jennifer Larmore, Morris Robinson & Michael Mayes Headline The Atlanta Opera’s 2019-20 Season

https://operawire.com/jennifer-larmore-morris-robinson-michael-mayes-headline-the-atlanta-operas-2019-20-season/

The Atlanta Opera has announced its 2019-20 season. According to the press release, for its 40th anniversary season, The Atlanta Opera will present operas which fall under the overarching theme of “dangerous liaisons,” where the “protagonists share a propensity for self-destructive relationships that threaten to bring about their downfall.” Additionally, during this season four internationally acclaimed artists will return home to {…}

Behind the Scenes, Interviews

Q & A: Maestro Henrik Nánási on Met Opera’s ‘Iolanta’ & ‘Bluebeard’s Castle’

https://operawire.com/q-a-maestro-henrik-nanasi-on-met-operas-iolanta-bluebeards-castle/

Tchaikovsky’s “Iolanta” and Bartók’s “Bluebeard’s Castle” will return to the Metropolitan Opera as a double after a successful run a few seasons ago. On first look, it seems like a strange combination with the composers’ styles rather different overall. It takes a truly strong maestro to move from Tchaikovsky’s lush lyrical qualities to Bartók’s challenging harmonic structures. Hungarian maestro Henrik {…}

Behind the Scenes, Interviews

Interview: Why ‘Opera As Opera’ Author Conrad L. Osborne Asserts That Artform Is In Creative Decline

https://operawire.com/interview-why-opera-as-opera-author-conrad-l-osbourne-asserts-that-artform-is-in-creative-decline/

“They just don’t sing as well as they used to.” You’ve heard it at some point during your opera-going. Some might dismiss such a statement as Golden Age Fallacy, nostalgic thinking that only emphasizes the positive aspects of the past and holding them up as better than the positives of the modern era. But Conrad L. Osborne thinks that is {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Oper Graz 2018-19 Review: Salome

https://operawire.com/oper-graz-2018-19-review-salome/

Johanni van Oostrum’s sensational Salome saves a fatally
flawed production from Florentine Klepper.

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Ars Minerva 2018-19 Review: Ifigenia in Aulide

https://operawire.com/ars-minerva-2018-19-review-ifigenia-in-aulide/

On December 1, 2018, Ars Minerva presented Giovanni Porta’s opera “Ifigenia in Aulide” at the ODC Theater (formerly Oberlin Dance Collective) in the Mission District of San Francisco. Premiered in 1738, Porta’s opera demonstrates some of the musical progress that occurred in the first half of the 18thcentury. “Ifigenia,” which features a libretto by Italian poet Apostolo Zeno, is an {…}

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 {…}