(Credit: Cory Weaver/Lyric Opera of Chicago) Elisabet Strid is considered one of today’s leading dramatic sopranos. She has performed on some of the world’s greatest stages to great acclaim and has specialized in the works of Wagner and Strauss. But there is without a doubt one role that has defined her career up to this point; Sieglinde in Wagner’s “Die {…}
(Credit: Marty Sohl/Met Opera) The Metropolitan Opera House is a dream for every opera singer. This week acclaimed coloratura soprano and rising star Brenda Rae will get a chance to realize that very dream when she makes her Met debut in the company’s first-ever production of Handel and Grimani’s “Agrippina.” Rae, who is a former ensemble member of Oper Frankfurt {…}
(Credit: Steven Laxton) Throughout the years the story of Orfeo and Euridice has been portrayed on stage in several different works and operas. Gluck’s “Orfeo ed Euridice” has dominated the scene while Monteverdi’s “Orfeo” has slowly seen a resurgence in popularity. But it doesn’t stop there as Haydn, Charpentier, Luigi Rossi and even Offenbach put their mark on the story. {…}
(Credit: Robert Workman) Back in 2018 when Jonathan Tetelman made a surprise debut at the Tanglewood Festival, OperaWire wrote “we’ll all be hearing a lot more about him, and soon.” The tenor showed promise and immediately became a major tenor on the rise. Two years later, Tetelman has fulfilled that promise bringing his career to an international level with major {…}
“Lucrezia Borgia” is one of the most challenging soprano roles of the Bel Canto repertoire. It is a part that sopranos relish to sing due to the complexity of the character and the flashiness of the music. So when a new soprano takes on the part for the first time, it is always exciting to wonder how that singer will {…}
(Credit: Robert Workman) In 2016 a young dramatic soprano won the Zarzuela Division and Second Prize at the Operalia Competition launching her international career and making her one of the most promising dramatic sopranos of her generations. A year before that the soprano had won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions as well as the Gerda Lissner Foundation, and the {…}
(Credit: Leo Nucci/Facebook) As the decade ends, 2020 begins and that means new works and new chapters. The same could be said of Leo Nucci, who reportedly stepped away from the stage saying goodbye to his iconic Rigoletto. However, before the year ends the legendary baritone is adding another role to his repertoire in a piece that will celebrate Beethoven’s {…}
(Credit: Karli Cadel) Over the past two season Steven LaBrie’s star has risen. He had breakouts with the New Amsterdam Opera and Teatro Nuovo and made major role debuts as well as house debuts with some of the United States’ major regional theaters including the San Diego Opera, Tulsa Opera, and Florida Grand Opera. This week LaBrie makes his long {…}
(Credit: LA Opera) Since winning Operalia, soprano Adela Zaharia has emerged as one of the major rising stars in the opera world. Zaharia has made major debuts in some of the world’s greatest opera houses including the Bayerische Staatsoper and LA Opera and has added a number of major role debuts. She has also become a frequent exponent of the {…}
(Credit:(c) Wiener Staatsoper / Michael Poehn) On Dec. 8, 2019 the Wiener Staatsoper will make history performing “Orlando.” The work was composed by Olga Neuwirth, the first woman to be commissioned to compose an opera for the theater in over 150 years. Based on Virginia Woolf’s novel of the same name, the work will feature an international cast including celebrated {…}
(Credit: Ray Burmiston / Decca Classics) There are few debuts at the Metropolitan Opera House in 2019-20 as hotly anticipated as that of soprano Lise Davidsen. Called a “voice in a million,” and a “Once in generation Wagnerian” by Opera Now, the Norwegian diva is renowned for her work in more dramatic repertory, including the works of Wagner and Strauss. {…}