(Credit: Evan Zimmerman / Met Opera) The Metropolitan Opera is set to present the annual holiday presentation of Julie Taymor’s English-language adaptation of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute.” The opera will be performed 17 times from Dec. 12 to Jan. 4. The production is set to star tenor Duke Kim and soprano Aigul Khismatullina as well as Kathryn Lewek who has {…}
The Dutch National Opera is set to open its 2024-25 season with Verdi’s “Rigoletto.” The famed Verdi opera will be revived in Damiano Michieletto’s production, which opened in 2017. When the production opened critics were mixed and said, “the production is overanalytical and is ultimately sabotaged by its own cleverness.” In 2021, the staging was shown in Venice at the {…}
The Dutch National Opera has announced its 2024-25 season. Opera René Barbera, Roman Burdenko, Aigul Khismatullina, Alexander Köpeczi, and Maya Gour Star in a revival of Verdi’s “Rigoletto.” Yi-Chen Lin conducts. Performance Dates: Sept. 2-29, 2024 Britten’s “Peter Grimes” will get a new production by Barbora Horáková. Lorenzo Viotti conducts a cast that includes Issachah Savage, Johanni van Oostrum, and {…}
(Credit: Antoni Bofill) The Gran Teatre del Liceu has announced the upcoming performances of Verdi’s “Rigoletto.” The opera will star Benjamin Bernheim, Saimir Pirgu and Josep Bros in the role of Duca di Mantua; Olga Peretyatko and Aigul Khismatullina as Gilda; Grigory Shkarupa and Liang Li in the role of Sparafucile; Rinat Shaham and Nino Surguladze as Maddalena; and Christopher {…}
(This review will focus on the Jan. 4 performance, though with mentions of the Jan. 3 performance as well.) There is a moment near the end of Davide Livermore’s “Die Zauberflöte” at Muscat’s Royal Opera House of Musical Arts in which Tamino and Pamino must face the trials by fire and water with the magic flute in tow. But Livermore {…}
The finalists for the Tchaikovsky Competition have been announced. In sum, there are nine singers, five of them from Russia, three from Asia, and only one other singer from a European country. The five Russians include Aigul Khismatullina, Maria Motoligina, Oksana Mayorova, Maria Barajova, and Migran Agagzanyan. South Korean Gihoon Kim, Mongolian Enkhbold Ankkhbayar, and Ubekistani Angelina Akhmedova represent the {…}
The 56 Concurso de Canto Tenor Viñas has announced its 2019 winners. After the finals held at the Gran Teatre del Liceu on Jan. 25, 2019, Peruvian tenor Ivan Ayon and Russian soprano Aigul Khismatullina took home first place. Meanwhile, American soprano Liv Redpath took home second prize while Chinese-born Long Long went home with third prize. Slovenian Jaka Mihelac won {…}