On February 14, 2019, Plácido Domingo visited Vilnius to prepare a performance alongside Ana María Martínez and Violeta Urmana, and conductor Jordi Bernàcer at Žalgiris arena. It is not often that one gets an opportunity to introduce the icon, who needs no introduction. Fortunately, OperaWire was at the press event prior to the performance and had an opportunity to ask {…}
The Houston Grand Opera and its Artistic and Music Director Patrick Summers have announced that Ana María Martinez will join the artistic team as the first-ever artistic advisor. Martinez will begin her new post this season and it will be a three-year appointment. In her new position, the soprano will advise on casting and future productions, mentor the HGO Studio artists, {…}
The Lyric Opera of Chicago has announced its 2019-20 season featuring 10 productions, including four new productions and the Ring Cycle in its entirety. The season will also include one special concert event and one important recital, among other projects. Here is a look at what audiences should expect. Main Stage The season opens with a revival of Rossini’s “Il {…}
Even though 2018 is coming to an end, there is a lot of opera to look forward to in 2019. There will be even more stars, world premieres, new productions, and rarely performed works that will be showcased throughout the world. In celebration of the new year, let’s take a look at the operas OperaWire believes are not be missed {…}
Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” will be live streamed from the Vienna State Opera on Friday, Dec. 7, 2018, as part of the company’s ongoing streaming service. Ana María Martínez brings her famed interpretation to Vienna alongside tenor Andrea Carè and baritone Gabriel Bermúdez. Conductor Jader Bignamini leads the musical direction in the production by Josef Gielen. This is the final performance {…}
The last time I saw Plácido Domingo up close was the first time: “Andrea Chénier,” San Francisco, 1975. He was a dashing superstar and a tenor. On Sunday, Oct. 21, 2018, he was General Director of the Los Angeles Opera, overseer of Operalia, The World Opera Competition, which he founded in 1993, conductor, divo, and baritone. What also changed was {…}
The San Francisco Opera has announced the program to Plácido Domingo’s upcoming concert. The performance, scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 21, 2018, will also include Puerto Rican soprano Ana María Martínez, Mexican tenor Arturo Chacón-Cruz, and the San Francisco Opera Orchestra conducted by Spanish conductor Jordi Bernàcer. The performance, which is sold out, will include opera music from Giuseppe Verdi’s “La {…}
I arrived at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Thursday night, Oct. 11, 2018, just in time to catch some of conductor James Conlon’s pre-performance talk to several hundred audience-members attending that evening’s Los Angeles Opera production of Verdi’s “Don Carlo.” Yes, Conlon regularly delivers these incredibly insightful introductions to the evening’s opera even as he’s about to go out and {…}
Mexican tenor Ramón Vargas is no stranger to Verdi’s “Don Carlo.” The Mexican tenor, who takes on the role at the Los Angeles Opera for the first time this season on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2018, has performed the role all around the world. He has appeared as the Spanish prince in Vienna, in Munich, and in Zurich, among other cities. {…}
There is something so intimate about the theater at Santa Fe Opera. Though intimacy may not be the word in mind for the over 2,000 seat semi-outdoor theater, it was magical to watch the setting sun as the backdrop for Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly.” It’s a treat reserved specifically for the New Mexican audience. Director Lee Blakely’s melancholy production of “Madama {…}
The Musco Center for the Arts has announced an exciting and diverse lineup for their 2018-19 season. First opening in 2016, this will only be the Musco Center’s third season, yet it’s filled with renowned performers who have spent decades honing their craft and experience. Musco Center Dean and Artistic Director William Hall says: “Once again, the line-up is led {…}