On November 21, the Società del Quartetto di Milano and international opera singers will present “Uniti per Verdi,” an event to save Sant Agata, Verdi’s home. The gala, which was organized by Ricardo Frizza and Francesco Meli will also feature Eleonora Buratto, Massimo Cavalletti, Roberto de Candia, Chiara Isotton, Roberta Mantegna, Caterina Piva, Piero Pretti, Annalisa Stroppa, Riccardo Zanellato, and {…}
The Donizetti Opera Festival is set to present “La Favorite.” The festival will present a critical edition edited by Rebecca Harris-Warrick, which reinstates the original French version as conceived by Donizetti for its first performance at the Théâtre de l’Académie Royale de Musique in Paris in 1840. Riccardo Frizza will conduct the work with a cast that includes Annalisa Stroppa {…}
This week audiences will get a chance to hear complete recordings of many great operas rare and standard repertoire. Here is a look at the recordings you can not miss. Theodora Lisette Oropesa, Joyce DiDonato, Paul-Antoine Bénos-Djian, Michael Spyres, and John Chest star in Erato’s new release of Händel’s “Theodora.” The album features Maxim Emelyanychev, Chief Conductor of the instrumentalists {…}
The final production of the Festival Verdi was “La Forza del Destino,” one of the most difficult of Verdi’s work to present. Aside from its massive cast, the work also requires multiple set changes and an epic landscape. How a director goes about approaching it can be a huge challenge. For the Festival Verdi, they found a great director in {…}
The Donizetti Opera Festival has announced its 2022 edition. The festival will present a new critical edition of “La favorite,” by Rebecca Harris Warrick from Ricordi. Music Director Riccardo Frizza will direct the operatic masterpiece. The production – newly co-produced with the Opéra National de Bordeaux – is directed by Valentina Carrasco with her team composed of Carles Berga and Peter van Praet for set {…}
Annalisa Stroppa is in the prime of her career performing on the great stages in the opera world and singing a diverse repertoire that spans Verdi, Donizetti, Bizet, Offenbach, Puccini, and Bellini. This week she returns to one of her signature roles in Bellini’s “Norma.” The mezzo, who has become a specialist in the Bel Canto repertoire, has championed the {…}
The XXII Festival Verdi has announced its 2022 programing. Here is a look at what the world-famous festival will offer Verdi lovers. The season opens with a new production of Verdi’s “La Forza del Destino.” Roberto Abbado conducts the 1869 Milano Critical edition with Anna Pirozzi, Gregory Kunde, Amartuvshin Enkhbat, Marko Mimica, Roberto de Candia, Annalisa Stroppa, and Andrea Giovannini. {…}
The Teatro Filarmonico announced its 2022 season featuring several new productions and rarely performed works. Here is a look. The company will present Wolf-Ferrari’s “Il segreto di Susanna” and Puccini’s “Suor Angelica” in a double bill. Gianna Fratta conducts the new production by Federica Zagatti Wolf-Ferrari and Giorgia Guerra. Vittorio Prato and Lavinia Bini star in Wolf-Ferrari’s opera while Donata D’Annunzio {…}
(© Semperoper Dresden/Matthias Creutziger) The Semperoper Dresden has announced that it will stream the 2016 double-bill production of Mascagni’s “Cavalleria Rusticana” and Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci.” The operas star Maria Agresta, Liudmyla Monastyrska, Annalisa Stroppa, Stefania Toczyska, Tansel Akzeybek, Alessio Arduini, Jonas Kaufmann, Ambrogio Maestri and Dimitri Platanias. Christian Thielemann conducts the Staatskapelle Dresden. This Unitel recording is made available in collaboration {…}
(Credit: Bregenz Festival official website) The Bregenz Festival has announced its 2022 slate, featuring four operas and international stars. Here is the full slate. Operas Rossini’s “L’Italiana in Algeri” stars Maria Barakova as Isabella, Alberto Comes as Mustafa, Sarah Yang as Elvira, and Spencer Britten as Lindoro. The cast also includes Florence Losseau, Hubert Kowalczyk, and Pierpaolo Martella. Jonathan Brandani {…}
This week audiences will get glimpses of holiday music, rarely performed works, and classic operas. There is also an intriguing solo album that audiences must check out. Here is a look at this week’s new releases. Christmas Wishes – Wundervolle Weihnacht Released for Christmas as a digital EP are three tracks from an album that soprano Diana Damrau has recorded {…}