(Credit: Dario Acosta) Editor’s Note: This review was a collaboration between David & Francisco Salazar. The Richard Tucker Gala is one of those nights that you circle on your opera calendar every single year. It’s everything people want from a high-end concert. Big stars in glamorous attire. A hallowed venue. And some of the greatest music ever written. In the {…}
October is at an end and opera season is in full force. This weekend features a plethora of fascinating options across the country, making it truly challenging to single out a few specific performances. And despite the high quality all around, we zeroed in on a few showcases that we feel really rise to the top. Here are our top {…}
(Credit: Cory Weaver/Metropolitan Opera) On Oct. 25, 2019 Puccini’s “La Bohème” will open at the Metropolitan Opera reviving Franco Zeffirelli’s classic production. The Mimì’s This season the production will feature three acclaimed Mimì interpreters who have performed the role throughout their Met careers. Ailyn Pérez will open the production in a role she has been hailed for. OperaWire stated, “Pérez’s Mimì {…}
(Credit: Marty Sohl / Metropolitan Opera) In the current social climate of today, Laurent Pelly’s vision for “Manon,” which premiered at the Met Opera back in 2012, remains as relevant as ever. And with top notch performers in the leading roles, the performance on Sept. 24, 2019, allowed this vision to rise to the top. The Male Gaze Back in {…}
(Photo by Merri Cyr) The Richard Tucker Foundation has announced that tenor Stephen Costello will join this year’s gala on Oct. 27, 2019 at Carnegie Hall. Costello was the 2009 Richard Tucker Award recipient and also received a Career Grant in 2007 and the Sarah Tucker Study Grant in 2006. He will join a cast that includes 2019 honoree Lisette {…}
The Richard Tucker Foundation has announced the lineup for the 2019 gala celebrating winner Lisette Oropesa. This year the lineup will include past Tucker winners Jamie Barton, Michael Fabiano, Ailyn Pérez, and Christian Van Horn. The gala will also include Bryan Hymel, Angel Blue, Lucas Meachem, Artur Rucinski, and a rare U.S. appearance for Ermonela Jaho. James Gaffigan will conduct {…}
The Opéra de Monte-Carlo has announced its slate for the 2019-20 season. It will kick off with a concert by the young artists from the Académie de l’Opéra de Monte-Carlo. Performance Date: Oct. 30, 2019 The first production of the season will be “Lucia di Lammermoor” which will star Olga Peretyatko in the title role. Ismael Jordi will be Edgardo {…}
The Teatro Real has announced its 2019-20 season featuring seven Teatro Real premieres and three Spanish premieres. Here is a look at what to expect. The season opens with Verdi’s “Don Carlo“ with Nicola Luisotti conducting a production by David McVicar. The opera returns after a 14 year absence with Francesco Meli, Andrea Carè, and Alfred Kim sharing the title {…}
This weekend, celebrate Valentine’s day with a plethora of dramatic works and tragedies. This weekend will not include repertory staples but rarely performed works that are getting revivals or new productions. Check it out. Salome – Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Italy Ausrine Stundyte takes on the title role in Strauss’ early masterwork. Gabriele Lavia directs a production, which also stars Doris Soffel, Tuomas Pursio, and Ian {…}
Verdi’s “Il Trovatore” is an audience favorite and a timeless classic and seeing Sir David McVicar’s revival currently playing at the Lyric Opera of Chicago is like a step back into time. The action is pushed forward a few centuries to Spain in the 19th with a dark and murky Goya-themed setting as the fitting backdrop for a tale of {…}
The San Francisco Opera has announced that Romanian-American baritone Andrew G. Manea will make a major role debut. The baritone will replace Artur Ruciński in the role of the Duke of Nottingham. The company announced that Ruciński withdrew due to lung injuries sustained in a serious bicycling accident involving a car in his native Poland. He is expected to make {…}