(Photo: Javier del Real) The evening of Oct. 21 at Teatro Real was wonderful in its intimacy. Handel and baroque music represent a form of opera entirely different from the familiar “hits” of the 19th and 20th centuries – plus a long-awaited three hours in which to switch off and recharge through beautiful, slightly otherworldly English music and magnificent arias {…}
(Credit: Bernd Uhlig / OnP) The production of “Ercole amante” at the Paris Opera represents both an artistic and a musicological event. The opera was composed in 1707 by Antonia Bembo, never performed during her lifetime and long presumed lost until it resurfaced in 1937 at the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Its rediscovery eventually led to a concert performance in {…}
Festival Pulsations releases its 2025 programming. Opening the festival is “Les Indes Galantes – De la voix des âmes,” an fusion of Jean-Philippe Rameau’s baroque opera and of hip-hop and krump. Laurène Paternò, Mathias Vidal, Ana Quitans, and Andreas Wolf, along with Rualité Structure, the Namur Chamber Choir, and Cappella Mediterranea perform under the baton of Leonardo García-Alarcón. Bintou Dembélé {…}
(Photo: Birgit Gufler) Christoph Graupner was a prolific German composer and harpsichordist from the late 17th and 18th centuries. Born near to the German city of Zwickau in 1683, he decided to study law in Leipzig before changing to follow a career in music. By 1705, he found himself working at the Oper am Gänsemarkt in Hamburg as a harpsichordist {…}
Programming for the 2024 Innsbruck Festival of Early Music has been announced. This article only features vocal performances. First up is a workshop for the upcoming performances of Giacomelli’s “Cesare in Egitto.” Soloists include Arianna Vendittelli, Emőke Barath, Filippo Mineccia, Margherita Maria Sala, Valerio Contaldo, and Federico Fiorio. Ottavio Dantone conducts the Accademia Bizantina. Performance Date: July 27, 2024 (Tyrolean {…}
(Photo credit: Kost) The Festival Alte Musik Knechtsteden has announced its slate for 2024. Handel’s “Il Trionfo del tempo e del Disinganno” opens the festival. Dorothee Oberlinger directs the Ensemble 1700 with soloists soprano Lombardi Mazzulli, countertenor Alois Mühlbacher, and tenor Laurence Kilsby. Performance Date: September 21, 2024 The Academy for Early Music Berlin performs works by Handel, Geminiani, Vivaldi, {…}
(Photo: Alciro Theodoro da Silva) Having survived the Reformation, allied bombing during World War Two and even an arson attack in 2005, Göttingen’s St. Johannis’ Church, which can trace its roots back to at least 1272, stands proudly overlooking the streets of the city’s historical centre. The current church, which dates back to the 14th century, has been added to {…}
(Credit: Festival de Saint-Denis official website) The Festival de Saint-Denis has announced its 2022 season. For the purpose of this article we will focus on the vocal works only. Soprano Selene Zanetti, mezzo-soprano Marianna Pizzolato, tenor Xabier Anduaga, and bass Gianluca Buratto perform Mozart’s “Ave Verum” and Rossini’s “Stabat Mater” alongside conductor Myung-Whun Chung, the Chœur de Radio France, and {…}
(Credit: Candy Welz) The Deutsches Nationaltheater und Staatskapelle Weimar has announced that conductor Andreas Wolf has been appointed the new Erster Kapellmeister. “I am really pleased to welcome Andreas Wolf, an experienced and proven high-ranking conductor and musician at the DNT and the Staatskapelle Weimar,” said Generalintendant Hasko Weber. “As the first conductor, he will be responsible for the continuous {…}
It’s happening. As the opera world starts progressing toward live performances, digital offerings are being tailored back a bit. We will continue this series nonetheless, providing our recommendations for some of the exciting upcoming opera events that you can stream from home in the event that you are not yet ready or able to return to a live performance. This {…}
(Credits: Franck Juery / Vincent Pontet / Groves Artists official website / Jacques Leinne) The Festival Berlioz has announced its 2021 edition that is set to take place from August 19 until August 30. For the purpose of this article, we will focus only on vocal performances. Mezzo-soprano Sophie Koch performs works by Hector Berlioz alongside Pascal Rophé, who conducts {…}