Arizona Opera has announced a number of new programs and initiatives that will make up the company’ss reimagined 2020-21 season. Running from November 20-22 will be the new Outdoor Opera Film Festival, which comes in collaboration with The Metropolitan Opera. The festival will feature screenings of the Met’s “Live in HD” productions of “La Traviata,” “The Barber of Seville,” and {…}
(Credit: Craig Smith) Recognizing the current public health challenges due to COVID-19, Arizona Opera announced that it will be replacing its planned “in-theater” productions for the 2020-21 Season with alternative programs. Arizona Opera’s 2020-21 Season is currently scheduled to begin on Friday, October 2 in Phoenix and on Sunday, October 4 in Tucson, with outdoor performances by members of Arizona {…}
With the 2019-20 season fully underway, we have found this challenge of selecting a choice few operas every weekend increasingly challenging as there is really a lot of special work going on around North America. Nonetheless, as per usual, we have whittled it down to five works that we think will bring a balanced operatic diet for those who want {…}
It’s a big weekend in North America with four major companies opening their doors for the first time in 2019-20. As such, we have a plethora of major works to recommend, including two new operas that are sure to fulfill the interest of those who want something a bit different from the familiar path. Here are our top five*** opera {…}
With an excellent cast and fine playing from the orchestra under Conductor Dean Williamson, Arizona Opera presented Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” at Phoenix Symphony Hall on April 5, 2019. Moral High Ground Stage Director Tara Faircloth chose to expand upon the amusing situations in Lorenzo da Ponte’s libretto, so that cast members were often running around the {…}
Since finishing his ensemble position at the Semperoper Dresden, baritone Zachary Nelson has built a formidable resume making important company and role debuts. Now he adds another major company debut in his favorite Mozart opera, “Le Nozze di Figaro.” The American baritone will make his first appearances with Arizona Opera as the Count in a new production. The season will {…}
“Silent Night,” Puts’ first opera, received its premiere at Minnesota opera in 2011 and won a Pulitzer Prize the following year. According to its libretto, during a late December in World War I, French, German and Scottish troops found it possible to declare an unofficial “truce” and celebrate a common holiday in brotherhood. This story has been told in several other artistic formats including the French film “Joyeux Noël” on which Campbell based his libretto.
This weekend we will shine a spotlight on a mix of repertory staples and some rarer works. Here are our weekend choices in alphabetical order by company. Silent Night – Arizona Opera The Kevin Puts-Mark Campbell collaboration continues to make the rounds around the country, making it essential viewing. This weekend, audiences can check out the final performances of Arizona {…}
On January 25, 2019, Arizona Opera presented Giuseppe Verdi’s opera of love and death, “La Traviata” at the Phoenix Symphony Hall—a perfect vehicle for the debut of 2017 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Winner Vanessa Vasquez. Currently a recent graduate of the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, Vasquez gave each note a beginning, a middle and a well planned {…}
Arizona Opera has announced its 2019-20 season, which will feature a number of modern works and two major classics. The season opens in September with the world premiere of the Taliesin West version of “Shining Brow” by librettist Paul Muldoon and composer Daron Hagen. The work will be conducted by Lidiya Yankovskaya with Chas Rader-Shieber directing the production. Among the {…}
“Charlie Parker’s Yardbird” features music by saxophone virtuoso Daniel Schnyder and a libretto by playwright Bridgette A. Wimberly. Since it premiered in 2015 at Opera Philadelphia, several the work has premiered with a number of companies, including the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the English National Opera. Perhaps the most interesting locale for “Yardbird” was its presentation at Harlem’s Apollo Theatre {…}