Jorge de León will sing Radamès in “Aida” at the Metropolitan Opera replacing Aleksandrs Antonenko. The Met press office announced that De León will sing the role on Feb. 28, March 4, and March 7. Antonenko was set to reprise the role he performed in the fall. He returns to the Met in March for a revival of “Samson et Dalila.” {…}
This weekend, it’s all about new productions. From South America to Europe, three of Verdi’s greatest opera are getting new productions. Meanwhile, Saint-Saëns’ masterpiece is getting a rare performance while the Festival Donizetti is in full swing. Check it out. La Traviata – Teatro Municipal Enrique Buenaventura, Colombia Federico Figueroa directs a new production of “La Traviata” in Cali starring Gabriela {…}
Yonghoon Lee is set to replace Aleksandrs Antonenko in tonight’s performance of “Aida,” per the Metropolitan Opera’s official Twitter account. “Yonghoon Lee will sing Radamès in tonight’s performance of Verdi’s Aida, replacing Aleksandrs Antonenko, who is ill #CastChange,” stated the tweet. This is Lee’s first performance of the role at the Met and he is set to take over the entire {…}
There will be 14 performances of Verdi’s “Aida” at the Metropolitan Opera during the 2018-19 season spanning from September through March. On the surface, 14 performances might not really be all that much, except when one considers that there will be what ultimately amounts to two very different casts with variations spread across three different periods of the season. So {…}
This spring, the French Institute Alliance Française, New York’s premiere French cultural center, and the American Friends of the Paris Opera & Ballet will present HD screenings of opera and ballet performances from the Paris Opera & Ballet for the first time in New York City. New Yorkers will have the opportunity to see “Millepied/Robbins/Balanchine” on Sunday, May 20, and “Samson et Dalila” {…}
The Opera de Monte-Carlo has announced its 2018-19 season, featuring a number of important stars and numerous productions. Here is a look at the unique season Monte Carlo will offer. The season opens with an evening entitled Opera-Comique at the Chapelle Musicale Reine-Elizabeth. Performance Dates: Oct. 13-14, 2018 A screening of “La Veuve Joyeuse” continues the season. Performance Dates: Oct. 25, {…}
The Vienna State Opera has announced the 2018-19 season, which is incidentally the company’s 150-anniversary year. The season will include six new productions, including a world premiere production. Here is a breakdown of what’s to come. New Productions (In Order of Opening) Berlioz’s “Les Troyens” will be the first new production, starting on Oct. 14, 2018. David McVicar directs while {…}
Let the Holiday season begin as many of the world’s festivals begin their Easter celebrations. Here is a breakdown of the performances you should see this weekend. Tosca – Salzburg East Festival, Austria The Easter Festival begins in Salzburg with a new production of “Tosca” starring the extraordinary Anja Harteros alongside Aleksandrs Antonenko and Ludovic Tézier. Christian Thielemann conducts the new {…}
The Royal Opera House has announced its 2018-19 season, which will continue its Live in Cinemas series. This season, there will be 11 productions, including six ballets and five operas. We will cover the operatic performances only. The first of these is Wagner’s “Die Walküre,” which will hit the big screen on Oct. 28, 2018. Let by conductor Antonio Pappano, {…}
Arnold Rawls will sing the role of Calàf in tonight’s performance of Puccini’s “Turandot” at the Metropolitan Opera. Rawls will replace the originally scheduled Aleksandrs Antonenko, who is ill. Rawls recently sang Radames in “Aida” at Opera Australia as Don Jose in “Carmen” at the Bergenz Festival. He has also sung “Il Trovatore,” “La Wally” and Verdi’s Requiem. Rawls has {…}
Occasionally music history has strange coincidences where a famous composer is unable to finish his final work. This is particularly strange when the final work has something to do with death. Consider Mozart who died writing a requiem. Likewise, Giacomo Puccini succumbed to lung cancer before completing “Turandot.” The last piece he wrote was the funeral march for the slave {…}