The Royal Opera House has announced additional online programming available for audiences to stream during the holidays. Subscribers of Royal Opera House Stream can enjoy access to two different versions of Bizet’s “Carmen.” The first is directed by Barrie Kosky and conducted by Jakub Hrusa, featuring Russian mezzo Anna Goryachova in a staging which includes rarely-heard music omitted by Bizet. {…}
Ensemble Clavecin will join forces with Ensemble Cochléa to present a Christmas Concert at the Crypt of St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montréal. Scheduled for Dec. 16 at 7:30 p.m., the showcase will feature baritone Hugo Laporte and mezzo-soprano Rose Naggar-Tremblay as they present old French hymns and Christmas songs from different countries. Audiences will hear music from such composers as {…}
This review is based on performances on Nov. 15 & 18, 2022. In every opera house, there is always an informal smoker’s meeting outside in the entr’acte. It is the best place to “feel the mood” of how an opera performance is being received. Hence, I am there solely for journalistic reasons, and nothing more. On this occasion, I went {…}
The Calgary Opera is set to present Bizet’s “Carmen” on November 19, 23 and 25, 2022 at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium. “Carmen” will feature Tunisian-Canadian rising star Rihab Chaieb, Panamanian-American baritone Nmon Ford, Canadian tenor David Pomeroy, members of the Cantaré Children’s Choir, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, and the McPhee Artists of the Calgary Opera. Mark Morash conducts with {…}
Photos: Erin Baiano If you were to walk down a street, stop a stranger, and ask if they’ve heard of the opera “Carmen,” more than likely, many would say yes. Ask the follow-up question: What’s it about? There may be some head scratching and faces scrunched in concentration as they try to recall … “Bullfighter.” Whether it was in an opera {…}
The Jerusalem Lyric Opera Festival has announced its 2023 Festival lineup, featuring works beloved by opera-goers. The Festival will run July 4-25, 2023. The Jerusalem International Opera Competition kicks off the season in July. Favorite arias are on tap as singers compete before a jury comprising conductors, singers, and casting directors from several of the world’s top opera houses. Performance {…}
Vancouver Opera has announced a cast change for its upcoming production of “The Pearl Fishers.” The opera announced that Aaron Blake will be joining the cast in the role of Nadir, replacing Long Long who was originally cast. Blake performs alongside Phillip Addis, Miriam Khalil, and Vartan Gabrielian. Kamna Gupta conducts the production. Rachel Peake directs. “Our original singer portraying {…}
Mastervoices is set to present the original version of Bizet’s “Carmen” with Jazz at Lincoln Center on Oct. 25, 2022. The opera will feature dialogue instead of recitative with an English translation by Sheldon Harnick. Mezzo Ginger Costa-Jackson, Terrence Chin-Loy, Mikaela Bennett, and John Brancy star in the production. Other cast members include Nicole Fernandez-Coffaro, Kimberly Sogioka, Zhengyi Bai, Michael {…}
The Schlossfestspiele Ettlingen is set to open Bizet’s “Carmen” on June 30, 2022. The production, which will be staged by Solvejg Bauer and conducted by Ulrich Cornelius Maier, will feature Sophie Kidwell and Julienne Mbodjé sharing the title role. As Don José audiences will see José Carmona and Jongwoo Kim. Kristin Gudmundsdottir and Daniela Yurrita will trade-off as Micaëla while {…}
On February 20th, touring southern UK opera company “Opera in a Box” performed its second of six performances of Georges Bizet’s best-known operas “Carmen” to a packed black-box theater within The Station in Bristol, UK. With a cast of mostly young and early-career singers, accompanied by a single pianist and subsumed in transfixing lighting arrangements by a modest crew of {…}
The National Theatre Prague is set to present a new production of “Carmen” this March. The opera, which opens on March 10 and 12 will star Nana Dzidziguri and Ester Pavlů as Carmen; Luis Gomez and Michal Lehotský as Don José; Łukász Golinski and Svatopluk Sem as Escamillo; and Kateřina Kněžíková, Alžběta Poláčková and Jana Sibera as Micaäla. Grischa Asagaroff {…}