(Credit: Simon Pauly) “The music is giving me what I need. Music has always given me what I needed in my life.” When the COVID-19 hurricane struck humanity in full force in March, tenor Martin Muehle was about to begin rehearsals for the supernatural opera “The Queen of Spades” at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. At that moment it was obvious {…}
(Credit: Daniil Rabovsky) Russian soprano Elena Stikhina has canceled the concert “The Best of Aida” at the Deutsche Oper Berlin,. As a result, Swedish soprano Christina Nilsson will perform in her stead. Nilsson recently took home the third prize at the Operalia competition and first prize at the Renata Tebaldi Vocal Competition. She has performed the role of Elsa von {…}
The Metropolitan Opera has announced that it will be releasing “Leontyne Price at the Met.” The two-CD collection features 34 live recordings of the famed soprano. It will be available for purchase starting on Sept. 18, 2020. The CD includes tracks from Price’s April 7, 1962 performance of “Tosca” alongside tenor Franco Corelli as conducted by Kurt Adler. Leonora’s Act {…}
The Opéra National de Paris will continue its “Avant-Premières Jeunes” during the 2020-21 season. The program allows anyone under the age of 28 to purchase discounted tickets (10 euros) for nine distinct performances throughout the season. The goal of the program is to ensure increased access to the theater for younger audiences. The program started back in 2015 and since {…}
(Credit: Michael Cooper) Celebrated American-Canadian soprano Sondra Radvanovsky will return to the stage in a live concert on Sept. 3, 2020 at the Teatro Colón in A Coruña, Spain. The famed soprano will be joined onstage by baritone Carlos Álvarez, tenor Alejandro Roy, and bass Simón Orfila. Radvanovsky’s first live performance after a six-month hiatus will feature different excerpts from {…}
(Credit: Rahvusooper Estonia) Estonian conductor Jüri Alperten has died at the age of 63, after a long illness. Alperten graduated from the Tallinn Conservatory in 1979 and was the Chief Conductor of the Estonian National Opera from 2002 to 2004; he was also the Chief Conductor of the Pärnu City Orchestra since 1998. Alperten had worked with several prominent orchestras, {…}
For this week’s quiz, we turn back to one of the giants of the operatic canon – Verdi. In this iteration, you will be presented with a scenario regarding one of Verdi’s main operas. These scenarios will usually relate to which characters are designated opening or closing lines of an opera, or other unique details in terms of their positioning {…}
(Credit: Oliver Ostermann/Brian Cheney) Austrian Composer Oliver Ostermann and American Tenor Brian Cheney have teamed up during the COVID-19 pandemic to create the album “ I Sang My Heart to the Moon.” The album features eight pieces in total with lyricist and acclaimed poet Nancy Fitz-Hugh Meneely offering up poetry suited for this time. “Love Apart,” “I Sang My Heart {…}
(Credit: Barbara Luisi) The Dallas Symphony Orchestra announced on Friday that it will present a new curated fall season of short concerts with smaller ensembles playing to a maximum audience of 75 people per performance. The redesigned fall season at the Meyerson Symphony Center, with a maximum seating capacity of 2,602, will begin on Sept. 4. The fall season will {…}
Kevin Short is one of today’s most versatile bass-baritones performing at some of the world’s greatest theaters and taking on leading roles in a wide variety of repertoire from Verdi to Gershwin to Stravinsky. In the summer, he was scheduled to perform the title role in Gregory Spears and Tracy K. Smith’s world premiere opera “Castor and Patience” at the {…}
The moment Latonia Moore stepped onstage during the Opening Night performance of “Porgy and Bess,” launching the Metropolitan Opera’s 2019-20 season, the audience was mesmerized. The soprano stole the show with her potent rendition of “My man’s gone now.” She received arguably the most applause of the evening and critics praised her for her “intensity.” Moore made her Met debut {…}