To close their 2020-2021 season, the Opéra de Monte-Carlo has presented a new production of Mussorgsky’s “Boris Godunov,” mounted in collaboration with Opéra Grand Avignon. Monaco has long resounded with the strains of this opera, in part because of the prominent Russian presence on the Côte d’Azur from Mussorgsky’s time to today. Most notably, the work was performed at the Opéra {…}
(Photo credit: Frances Marshall) “At Home With… ” is a series collaboration between OperaWire and photographer Frances Marshall of Marshall Light Studio, combining original photography with insightful interviews. Between New York City and the stunning scenery of England’s Surrey Hills, a rumble like a temblor traveled across the Atlantic. On the Surrey side was the renowned bass, Brindley Sherratt. After the {…}
(Credit: Irina Arkhipova Foundation) Russian tenor Vladislav Piavko has died at the age of 79. Piavko began his career as a student at the Moscow Conservatory before continuing his studies in Milan. The tenor performed major roles at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow for over 25 years, including the role of Radames in Verdi’s “Aida” and Manrico in “Il Trovatore;” {…}
(Credits: Gisela Schenker / Gerard Collett / © wildundleise.de) Opernhaus Zürich has announced that it will reopen on September 20, 2020, with the fully staged production of Modest Mussorgsky’s gigantic opera “Boris Godunov.” The cast for the opera includes Michael Volle, Lina Dambrauskaité, Irène Friedli, John Daszak, Konstantin Shushakov, Brindley Sherratt, Edgaras Montvidas, Oksana Volkova, Johannes Martin Kränzle, Alexei Botnarciuc, {…}
Composers Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Modest Mussorgsky are actually more inseparable than one might imagine. Both were arguably the most enduring members of The Five. Rimsky-Korsakov famously completed many of his friend’s unfinished works. And the two had birthdays within days of one another. So in celebrating these two historic Russian composers, here is a quiz that pits them against one {…}
(Credit: Fabio Parenzan Visualart – Teatro Verdi Trieste.) Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi di Trieste’s staging of “Boris Godunov” was an imported production from the Dnepropetrovsk Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre of Dnipro in the Ukraine, originally directed by Yurii Victorovych Chaika, with Trieste supplying the orchestra and part of the chorus, under the musical director, Alexander Anissimov. Given the work’s {…}
Martti Talvela was one of Finland’s greatest opera stars. Born on Feb. 4, 1935, in Hiitola as the eighth of 10 children, he studied in Lahti and Stockholm. Initially, he was on the path to be a school teacher and actually engaged with that occupation between 1957-60. However, he made his operatic debut in Helsinki in 1960 and would then {…}
The Opéra National de Paris’s strike will affect tonight’s performance of “Boris Godunov.” The company announced that due to the strike, tonight’s performance of “Boris Godunov” will be replaced by a concert version (chorus and soloist singers in a single costume, no sets). The news comes after the ongoing strike that has affected numerous performances. As a result of the change, the {…}
Mussorgsky’s “Boris Godunov” is legendary. The work is widely regarded as Russia’s greatest opera, even despite its labyrinthine history of revisions. This week, the work opens at the Opéra de Paris in a production by Ivo van Hove with Ildar Abdrazakov and Alexander Tsymbalyuk sharing the title role. Alongside them will be conductors Vladimir Jurowski and Damian Iorio. While Jurowski {…}
Mussorgsky’s masterpiece is an opera with a unique history. Never completed, by the composer, it has undergone numerous different versions, obtaining a premiere on Jan. 27, 1874. Other famous composers have even had their day with the work, offering up their own revisions (read more below). It has been the subject of much study and debate, and for many, is {…}
Nicolai Gedda was one of opera’s most proficient artists, taking on dozens and dozens of roles throughout his career. For many, Gedda, born on July 11, 1925, will always be associated with the role of “Faust” in Gounod’s famous work, one which he performed hundreds of times, but he also performed a number of roles that one might not associate {…}