(Photo: Ben van Duin) For its final presentation of the season, the Dutch National Opera brought together a stellar cast under the musical direction of Fabio Luisi, conducting the Concertgebouw Orchestra, with stage direction by Jetske Mijnssen for a new production of Verdi’s emotionally and politically complex opera “Simon Boccanegra” in the revised 1881 version with its text by Arrigo Boito. And it did {…}
(Photo credit: Zohar Izenberg) Soprano Eliza Boom has won the $40,000 2024 Joan Sutherland & Richard Bonynge Bel Canto Award in Sydney. Boom competed with arias from “Capriccio,” “Thais,” “Madama Butterfly,” and “Cosi fan Tutte.” The five judges on the panel gave a unanimous first-place vote for Bloom. The competition featured 32 singers. Coming in second place, with the Richard {…}
(Credit: Arenda Oomen) The government of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has has extended the state of lockdown until Jan. 14, 2022. The lockdown began on Nov. 13, and was initially set to last until Dec. 3. However, initial measures failed to achieve the goal of lowering the number of infections and were further tightened on Nov. 27. The country {…}
(Credits: Daniil Rabovsky / Gisela Schenker / Monteverdi Choir & Orchestras official website) The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra will be returning to the stage on August 28, 2020. The Orchestra has announced its fall season which will last until December 23, 2020. For the purpose of this article, we will focus only on the vocal works. Mezzo-soprano Ann Hallenberg will perform {…}
The Amsterdam Concertgebouw has announced the 2021 Mahler Festival which will take place from May 18-23, 2021. In a press release, the Concertgebouw noted that after having canceled the 2020 edition, the concert house has created something different in design. The festival will see Mahler’s first six symphonies performed by six world-renowned orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Bavarian {…}