Let’s briefly address the elephant or rather demon in this particular review, as it were. Namely, what is it with the fascination of so many 19th century composers with this classic Romantic literature – often considered the greatest work of German literature – Goethe’s “Faust”? There is Hector Berlioz’s masterpiece, “La damnation de Faust”, which I recently reviewed in a {…}
The Berkshire Opera Festival is set to present a new production of Charles Gounod’s “Faust.” The production will star tenor Duke Kim, Raquel González, Justin Hopkins, Sun-Ly Pierce, and Abbegael Greene. In a statement, conductor and Berkshire Opera Festival Co-Founder Brian Garman said, “BOF enters the realm of French grand opera for the first time with these performances of Faust. {…}
Berkshire Opera Festival is set to celebrate its 10th anniversary season in 2025. The company will present Verdi’s masterpiece “La Traviata” with a cast that includes Vanessa Becerra, Joshua Blue, and Darren Drone. The festival will present the work on August 23, 26, and 29 at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center. In recent years, the company has presented productions of {…}
The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington, Massachusetts will be the new home of the Berkshire Opera Festival. The two organizations announced that they had reached an agreement through a multi-year residency. The Mahaiwe will showcase the Berkshire Opera Festival’s upcoming production of “Faust” in August with a preview led by Brian Garman and Jonathan Loy, the co-founders of {…}
The Berkshire Opera Festival has announced its 2024 season. BOF proudly presents the first workshop performance of a brand new opera from the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Anthony Davis. The opera in question is “The Reef” and the workshop will be held at Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center, New York City. The libretto is by Joan Ross Sorkin and adapted {…}
For the Berkshire Opera Festival’s first “La Bohème,” OperaWire interviewed two of the leads, Yongzhao Yu (Rodolfo) and Véronique Filloux (Musetta). The festival, not far from the historic site of Tanglewood, has over the years gained a reputation for exciting and powerful productions. It is also known for spotting rising talent poised to reach an ever wider audience around the globe. {…}
The Berkshire Opera Festival is set to open its 2023 summer season with “Breaking the Mold: Baroque, Bel Canto, and Beyond.” The concert will showcase arias and ensembles spanning 300 years, on July 22 at Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center. Audiences will get hear music that ranges from Händel to Heggie. The performance will feature a cast of some of BOF’s {…}
The Berkshire Opera Festival has announced its 2023 season. The season includes Puccini’s “La Bohème” at Colonial Theater. The cast will include Whitney Morrison, Yongzhao Yu, Benjamin Taylor, Veronique Filloux, Evan Lazdowski, Ethan Vincent, and James Demler. Brian Garman conducts the production by Jonathon Loy. In a statement, Loy said, “This will be a production with a fresh take that {…}
Fresh off a successful run of Heggie and Scheer’s “Three Decembers,” the Berkshire Opera Fest is set to open the main stage production of “Don Giovanni” at Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, Great Barrington, MA, on August 20th. 2022. The show will have additional performances on August 23 and 26. In this round table-style interview, OperaWire spoke with Co-founders Jonathon Loy and Brian {…}
Photos by Matt Madison-Clark This review is of the July 23, 2022, Berkshire Opera Fest Performance “At the heart of what we do is produce the greatest opera at the highest level. The Berkshires is a magical place. There was a void of opera, and so here we are,” Jonathon Loy, Berkshire Opera Fest’s (BOF) Co-founder and Director of Production, {…}
The Berkshire Opera Festival has announced its 2022 season. The company will present three productions in Great Barrington and Pittsfield, MA; and for the first time in the company’s history, Berkshire Opera Festival will bring performances to Chatham, NY. The season will open with Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer’s “Three Decembers” with a cast that includes Adriana Zabala as Madeline {…}