Opera Theatre of Saint Louis has announced its 2020-21 season, which will feature a wide range of unique experiences. The company’s digital season will see the Sally S. Levy Opera Center transformed into a filming studio and the company will not only create film versions of major classics, but also three world premieres of 20-minute operas. The company will also {…}
The Metropolitan Opera has announced the next two weeks of its streaming slate which will focus on opera’s greatest comedies and political dramas. Renée Fleming and Joyce DiDonato lead the way, appearing in three different streams each over the course of the two weeks. Here is a full rundown. Week 32– Operatic Comedies Monday, October 19 – Rossini’s Il Barbiere di {…}
The Atlanta Opera has announced a new business model for the 2020-21 season with the “Big Tent” series. The new series will comprise of six new chamber opera productions in open-air venues prioritizing the health and safety of audiences, artists, and backstage personnel while maintaining the exceptional level of music and storytelling. The series will launch in the fall with {…}
(Credit: Met Opera / Ken Howard / Marty Sohl) The Met Opera has unveiled its 25 and 26th weeks of streaming, continuing its theme-based streaming options. For week 25, the company will focus on 20th-century classics, while the ensuing week of streams will place an emphasis on French operas. Monday, August 31 – R. Strauss’s Elektra Starring Nina Stemme, Adrianne Pieczonka, Waltraud {…}
The Atlanta Opera has announced the formation of the Atlanta Opera Company Players, featuring 12 world-class singers. The 12 artists will collaborate with the company’s leadership team to reimagine its 2020–21 season. Among the singers are sopranos Jasmine Habersham and Talise Trevigne; mezzos Jamie Barton, Daniela Mack, and Megan Marino; tenors Alek Shrader and Richard Trey Smagur; baritones Michael Mayes {…}
Over 100 singers came together for a video performance of “Light Shall Lift Us,” a work by librettist Mark Campbell and composer Paul Moravec. The duo, which has worked together on “The Shining” proposed the idea to Marc Scorca of Opera America, who embraced the idea and helped put together the 107 artists who would eventually record their individual parts {…}
The Metropolitan Opera has announced Week 9 of its night streams. This coming week features some of opera’s greatest stars including Jonas Kaufmann, Plácido Domingo, Joan Sutherland, and Jessye Norman. Monday, May 11 – Massenet’s Werther Starring Lisette Oropesa, Sophie Koch, Jonas Kaufmann, and David Bižić, conducted by Alain Altinoglu. From March 15, 2014. Tuesday, May 12 – Thomas Adès’s The Tempest {…}
New and old come together in this weekend’s major picks. There will be a unique world premiere as well as a revival of two recent premieres. You also have a mix of some repertory staples taking the nation’s capital by storm. Anna Bolena – Baltimore Concert Opera, Maryland The Baltimore Concert Opera continues its season with a presentation of the {…}
(Credit: Wiener Staatsoper/InArt Management/Marius Baragan/Kristen Hoebermann/Opus Artist) Every year the Metropolitan Opera includes certain elements of surprise in its season planning, whether in repertoire or in casting choices. Sometimes those casting choices are unexpected and include important returns to the stage. This season, OperaWire is spotlighting six major artists that have not performed on the Met stage in years and {…}
(Credit: Jiyang Chen) The Washington National Opera kicks off its spring period with a production of Mozart and Da Ponte’s “Don Giovanni.” Evan Rogister will lead the WNO Orchestra in his first staged production as principal conductor with director E. Loren Meeker leading the creative team. Ryan McKinny sings the title role alongside Vanessa Vasquez, Keri Alkema, Alek Shrader, Kyle Ketelsen, {…}
When Dido, the Queen protagonist in Henry Purcell’s baroque opera sings her final aria “When I am laid in Earth,” not only do we hear some of the most beautiful music that was ever composed, Purcell also invites us on a journey of deep introspection, forcing us come to terms with the frailty of human existence. But in recent performances {…}