https://operawire.com/remembering-johan-bothas-greatest-roles/
One of the great tragedies of 2016 was losing tenor Johan Botha in the midst of his vocal prime. At just 51 years of age, he still had, at the very least, a few solid years of singing to impart on us. Those who heard Botha will rarely forget his beautiful tenor, a delicate instrument by nature capable of ripping {…}
https://operawire.com/ricarda-merbeth-steps-in-for-an-ill-petra-lang-under-unique-circumstances/
After Petra Lang lost her voice during a run of “Tristan Und Isolde” at the Bayreuth Festival, Ricarda Merbeth stepped in, singing at the wings. Because there was no time to prepare the production, Lang moved throughout the stage while Merbeth sang the challenging role. The current production by Katharina Wagner stars Stephen Gould as Tristan, Rene Pape as King Mark {…}
https://operawire.com/the-career-milestones-of-superstar-soprano-kathleen-battle/
Kathleen Battle is one of the greatest opera stars of all time. Everyone knows that her career was one of many ups and downs, the latter ultimately cost her years of her prime, but while she was at the summit of the opera world, there were few anywhere near her. Battle, born August 13, 1948, had simply too many milestones {…}
https://operawire.com/from-budapest-to-berlin-ferenc-fricsays-operatic-milestones/
Hungarian conductor Ferenc Friscsay, born on August 9, 1914, will always be remembered for having his recording of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony appear on Stanley Kubrick’s “A Clockwork Orange.” But the maestro did so much more throughout his career, particularly in the realm of opera. Throughout his career, he had some major milestone moments with some of the world’s greatest European {…}
https://operawire.com/francesco-meli-replaces-roberto-alagna-at-gstaad/
Francesco Meli will replace Roberto Alagna as Radames at the Gstaad Menuhin Festival. The concert performance of Verdi’s “Aida,” which is slated for Sept. 1, 2017, comes on the heels of his role debut as Radamès in Salzburg where he is slated to perform it alongside Anna Netrebko under the musical direction of Riccardo Muti. At Gstaad, Meli will join Gianandrea {…}
https://operawire.com/what-roles-do-licia-albanese-anja-harteros-share/
Licia Albanese was one of the leading Madama Butterflies of her time while Anja Harteros has become one of the go-to spinto Sopranos, performing a wide range roles from the Strauss, Verdi and Wagner repertoire. The two sopranos, while coming from different fachs and specializing in different repertoire, still had a number of roles in common. La Traviata This was one of {…}
https://operawire.com/a-taste-of-dawn-upshaws-passion-for-modern-opera/
Dawn Upshaw is one of the most respected American sopranos of her generation, having sung at many of the major houses including the Metropolitan Opera. She also performed for the President of the United States. Currently, Upshaw, born on July 17, 1960, is an educator serving as the Artistic Director of the Graduate Program in Vocal Arts at the Bard College Conservatory {…}
https://operawire.com/rolando-villazon-ildar-abdrazakov-team-up-for-duets/
Deutsche Grammophon has announced Rolando Villazón’s new album. The CD entitled “Duets” will include Ildar Abdrazakov with Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conducting the Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain. “Duets” will include French and Italian opera duets for tenor and bass/baritone and is set for release in September. It marks the singers’ first album together and marks Abdrazakov’s debut on the yellow label. It also {…}
https://operawire.com/qa-kristine-overman-on-singing-the-countess-in-le-nozze-di-figaro-and-returning-to-prague-summer-nights/
The Prague Summer Nights Festival, presented by Classical Movements, continues this weekend in Salzburg. One of the artists performing this week includes Kristine Overman, a 21-year-old soprano who is currently studying at the University of Michigan and who is singing her second major opera role. Having performed with the Michigan Opera Theater as a young child, Overman has always been {…}