(Foto: Monika Rittershaus / Courtesy of Opernhaus Zürich) George Frideric Händel composed “Agrippina” during his Italian tour, a work that marked a pivotal moment in his career. It solidified his grasp of Italian opera, represented his first genuine operatic triumph, and remains the earliest of his operas for which the complete score has survived intact. The libretto, written by Cardinal {…}
Welcome back for this week’s look at the latest CD and DVD releases in the opera world. This week audiences will get a good helping of baroque favorites and rarities, star-studded albums, world premieres and some fantastic modern works by recognized composers. Rufus Wainwright’s Dream Requiem The new album showcases Wainwright’s “Dream Requiem,” an epic work for orchestra, chorus, soprano, {…}
The Premio Abbiati del Disco 2024 has announced its 2024 winners. The prizes, which are awarded by the Associazione Critici musicali italiani, saw Anna Bonitatibus’s album “Monologues” take home the award for Best Solo Album. Meanwhile, the award for Best Opera recording went to Pentatone’s “Dido and Aeneas” with Fleur Barron, Matthew Brook, Giulia Semenzato, Nicky Spence under David Bates and {…}
What does it take to make a difference in the opera world? And what does it mean? Should one be world-famous, have a star-management and a five-figure fee? I guess it’s a certain way. But then, on a planet [over]-populated by almost eight billion people, we would have just a handful of such personalities. When a couple of years ago, {…}
On Dec 12, 2022, a one-night-only benefit concert titled “Woman.Life.Freedom.” will take place at Oper Frankfurt, raising funds in support of the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran (ABC). All proceeds raised from ticket sales and any online donations will directly benefit ABC. The event will also be available for global streaming on IDAGIO and 80 percent of {…}
On Nov. 2 during a performance at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, climate activists protested the Holland government. During a performance of the Verdi Requiem by the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano, three activists started shouting that they were protesting the government’s insistence on using fossil fuels. They shouted, “We are in the middle of a climate crisis and we are like the {…}
The Teatro Principal in Las Palma de Mallorca, Spain has announced its 2022-23 Season. The season will open with Monteverdi’s “L’Orfeo” in a production by Yves Lenoir. Federico Sardelli conducts soloists Irene Mas, Anna Bonitatibus, Joan Martín-Royo, and Albert Miguélez Rouco. Performance Dates: Oct. 21 & 23, 2022 Tomeu Bibiloni, Manuel Fuentes, and Jorge Tello star in Puccini’s “La Boheme“ with Andrea Cigni {…}
(Photo: Jean-Louis Fernandez) As a rule of thumb, you know that if you have to rely on the director’s program notes to make sense of what is happening on stage, then the production is likely to disappoint. Of course, even in such circumstances it is sometimes possible to develop an intuitive understanding, even where the explicit meaning remains elusive, which {…}
The Opéra National de Bordeaux has announced its 2022-23 season featuring opera, ballet, concert, and great voices. Opera Paul Daniel conducts Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” with Yoshi Oïda directing. Karah Son, Virginie Verrez, Riccardo Massi, and André Heyboer. Performance Dates: Nov. 10-21, 2022 Roberto González-Monjas conducts Mozart’s Requiem in a production by Stéphane Braunschweig. The cast includes Hélène Carpentier, Fleur Barron, {…}
The ADDA Simfònica in Alicante, Spain has announced its 2022-23 season. Here is a look at the vocal performances for the season. Josep Vincent conducts a program of music by Dvorak, Prokofiev, Campogrande with soloists Stefanie Iranyi and Ellinor d’Melon. Performance Date: Oct. 14, 2022 Verdi’s Requiem will feature the Milan Symphony orchestra under the direction of Claus Peter Flor. {…}
The Palau de les Arts in Valencia has announced its 2022-23 season featuring opera, zarzuela concerts and inetrnational stars. Opera Jamie Man’s “Zelle” will be showcased with countertenor Steve Katona, Ryoko Aoki, Jackie Janssens, Asko|Schönberg, Wiek Hijmans, Joey Marijs, and Tatiana Rosa. Man conducts his work. Performance Date: Sept. 16, 2022 Alex Esposito, Eleonora Buratto, Silvia Tro Santafé, and Ismael {…}
