(Credit: Ray Burmiston/Decca Classics) “I hope that we will be more grateful for the fact that we get to do what we do, that we can sit next to each other in a concert hall and have some more respect for others when they’re not feeling great or are down. We need to come out of this pandemic more supportive {…}
(Photo Credit: Lizelle de Wit) The COVID-19 pandemic had a huge impact for many opera singers and companies all over the world. Not only were performances canceled left and right, but there were concerns over when and how singers might be able to get back on the operatic stage. As the months passed by, we saw online performances, socially distanced {…}
(Credit: Ray Burmiston) “One voice in a million.” This is the kind of phrase on which legacies, mythologies, histories are built. And it’s the phrase that continues to crop up whenever Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen enters the operatic conversation. The soprano has definitely played her part in bringing about this idea that her voice is of a unique power. She {…}
(Image source: YouTube) Dutch mezzo-soprano Cora Canne Meijer passed away on August 25, 2020, at the age of 91. Cora Canne Meijer graduated from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. The mezzo-soprano debuted in 1950 with the Nederlandse Opera (now De Nationale Opera) in the role of Annina in Verdi’s “La Traviata.” During her first year at the Nederlandse Opera, Meijer sang {…}
(Credit: Ashley Plante) When Berlin opera houses called off their performances in March due to the COVID 19 pandemic, one rarely performed opera was stopped dead in its track- the Komische Oper’s production of “Schwanda.” Among the artists set to star in that production was American soprano Sara Jakubiak. Jakubiak, who has appeared on the most important world stages, to {…}
(Credit: Candy Welz) Soprano Camila Ribero-Souza was born in São Paulo, Brazil, where she studied singing with Jocelyne Gallo, Edilson Costa, and Luiz Tenaglia. From March 2011 until January 2018, she was a member of the soloist ensemble of the Meininger Staatstheater. In February 2018, as a spinto soprano, she joined the ensemble at the Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar, where she {…}
The San Francisco Conservatory of Music Opera will present Mozart’s “The Impresario” and the prologue to Strauss’ “Ariadne auf Naxos” on Nov. 21 and 22, 2019. The performances will take place at the Caroline H. Hume Concert Hall and will be directed by Heather Mathew, who is the Associate Program Director of the Opera and Musical Theatre department at the {…}
(Credit: Bo Huang) On Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2019, the Vienna State Opera will live stream Richard Strauss’ “Ariadne Auf Naxos.” The opera, which will be performed in a production by Sven-Eric Bechtolf, will be conducted by Michael Boder and will star Hans Peter Kammerer, Jochen Schmeckenbecher, Kate Lindsey, Stephen Gould, Hila Fahima, and Adrianne Pieczonka. The stream kicks off at {…}
(Credit: Philip Groshong) In Greek myth, Theseus cruelly abandons Ariadne on a desert island, but she’s ultimately rescued by Bacchus. Cincinnati Opera, by contrast, abandons Richard Strauss’ “Ariadne auf Naxos” to a gimmicky concept from which no rescue is possible. As the rewards — such as they were — of this production proved musical in nature, this review will begin {…}
Next to Verdi, Wagner, Mozart, and Puccini, Richard Strauss is one of the most important composers in the history of opera. Born on June 11, 1864, he was a prominent figure during the early part of the 20th century. Many of his most famed operas are major staples of the repertory and even his lesser-known works are held in high {…}
Amy Owens is the true definition of renaissance artist. As a coloratura soprano, she gravitates more to recitals and concert operas rather than staged productions. She released an electronic pop album this summer, right before attending the Linda and Mitch Hart Dallas Institute for Women Conductors. Just for the fun of it, Owens took on rare (and more difficult) version of {…}