(Credit: Ludwig Olah/Semperoper Dresden) This week the Berlin State Opera is set to open its production of Strauss’ epic opera “Die Frau Ohne Schatten.” The work is rarely performed because of the immense cast and orchestra it requires so it is always a special work to hear it when it is presented. With this revival, the Berlin State Opera has {…}
This week the Seattle Opera is set to world premiere “Jubilee” created by Tazewell Thompson and with vocal arrangements by Dianne Adams McDowell and orchestrations by Michael Ellis Ingram. The work tells the story of the historic Fisk Jubilee Singers that came together after the emancipation and the end of the Civil War. The work features important spiritual and and {…}
(Credit: Ken Howard / Met Opera) On Sept. 23, the Metropolitan Opera will open its 2024-25 season. The season opening is always one of the most glamorous events of the opera season on a worldwide scale. And to commemorate the occasion this year, the company will present Jeanine Tesori’s “Grounded” to the legendary stage for the first time with an {…}
(Credit: Vincent Pontet/Paris Opera) This week the Paris Opera opened its 2024-25 season with Verdi’s final work. The production featured some of the greatest interpreters of the opera as well as an array of singers new to the work. Among them was Olivia Boen who was making a double debut. The American soprano not only made her role debut as {…}
(Credit: Meigui Zhang Facebook) This week the San Francisco Opera is set to open its 2024-25 season with a production of “Un Ballo in Maschera,” an opera that has not been performed at the company in 10 years. For this new production, the San Francisco Opera has assembled an all-star cast that includes Meigui Zhang, a rising star in the {…}
This week the Salzburg Festival opens a new production of “Les Contes d’Hoffmann” with an all-star cast that includes some of the best performers of the work. Among them is Kathryn Lewek, who will be taking on the challenge of portraying all four heroines, something that has always been seen as rare and complex. In preparation for the roles, Lewek {…}
This week the Rossini Opera Festival is set to open with a new production of one of the composer’s lesser-known works, “Bianca e Falliero.” The work has been presented at the festival before famously in 1986 and is considered very difficult to sing due to the intensity of its coloratura writing. The new production will include some very important Rossini {…}
After opening at Montclair State University, Teatro Nuovo is set to bring its 2024 festival to New York City where it will showcase two rarities of the Bel Canto repertoire. One of the operas is well-known in Europe while the other “Anna di Resburgo” by Carolina Uccelli, is unknown to the world. Teatro Nuovo will unearth the work this week {…}
This week the Festival Valle d’Itria in Martina Franca is set to open a new production of Bellini’s “Norma” which will be performed in Roger Parker’s Ricordi edition. The version will see two sopranos in the opera, which is close to what Bellini originally intended. Among the artists enlisted for this production is Jacquelyn Wagner. Wagner will make her house {…}
(Credit: Richard Hubert Smith) Last week, the Glyndebourne Festival opened its 2024 production of “Giulio Cesare,” a revival of a production by David McVicar. The production features a cast of rising stars and baroque specialists. Among them are Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen who is returning to the festival after his successful debut in Händel’s “Semele.” For his performances thus far he {…}
This week, the Grange Festival is set to open a new production of “The Rake’s Progress,” the final showcase of the season. Among the cast members is Adam Temple-Smith, a rising star in the opera world. Throughout the past years, Temple-Smith has performed with Opera Holland Park, West Green House Opera, the Southrepps International Festival, Garsington Opera, Internazionale d’Arte Festival {…}