(Photo Credit: James Glossop) Disability is a tricky subject in opera. Oftentimes, it is chastised as something dirty or mysterious or just down right funny. But in truth, it’s rather serious and a complicated theme to get right. A new opera about the perils of mental illness, love, and genuine belief has tried to reframe this with exceptional results. Composed {…}
(Credit: Richard Hubert Smith) On Sept. 18, Switzerland’s Theater St. Gallen will open a new production of Missy Mazzoli‘s 2016 “Breaking the Waves,” one of the most acclaimed operas of recent years. This run of performances will mark the first time the country presents the work, which will bring a cast of rising stars including Vuvu Mpofu. Mpofu will interpret {…}
The Los Angeles Opera will co-present, in collaboration with Opera Philadelphia, an online broadcast of Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek’s “Breaking the Waves.” “Breaking the Waves” will be available for free through the LA Opera’s streaming platform, first for subscribers from March 12 to 18 and then to the general public from March 19 until April 12, 2021. It will {…}
(Credit: Frances Marshall) “Opera in the Times of COVID” is an interview series in collaboration with photographer Frances Marshall of Marshall Light Studio. We talk to notable figures from around the opera world to get their perspective on how they feel these challenging times may change opera’s present and future. Missy Mazzoli is one of the great opera composers of {…}
The Metropolitan Opera collaboration with the Brooklyn Academy of Music on Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek’s “Breaking the Waves” has been canceled. The opera, which was scheduled to be performed on June 23- 30, 2020, featured a cast comprised of Sydney Mancasola as Bess McNeill, Wallis Giunta as Dodo, and Duncan Rock as Jan. “Breaking the Waves” would have featured {…}
(Credit: James Glossop) Opera is quivering, twisting, and turning. Could it be that we are in an opera renaissance? There is a new blood pulsing through its veins. Opera and theater makers are pulling at its heart, resuscitating our interest and taking us to diverse locations with as yet unclassifiable languages and forms. The Xen of Opera looks at the {…}
The LA Opera announced its 2020-21 season featuring five main stage production, four new productions and a number of second stage productions through its Connects and LA Opera Grand sections. Among the composers featured in the programming are Missy Mazzoli, Verdi, Mozart, Handel, and Rossini. In light of the new season announcement, CEO and president of the house Christopher Koelsch {…}
(Credit: Marylene Mey) The Metropolitan Opera and Brooklyn Academy of Music have announced a collaboration to present Missy Mazzoli’s “Breaking the Waves.” The opera will be performed starting on June 23- 30, 2020 with Sydney Mancasola as Bess McNeill, Wallis Giunta as Dodo, and Duncan Rock as Jan. The Metropolitan Opera announced that Yannick Nézet-Séguin will conduct the opera with {…}
When “Breaking the Waves” made its world premiere in 2016 at Opera Philadelphia, it became a critical darling and won the inaugural Best New Opera Award from the Music Critics Association of North America. The work was also shortlisted for “Best World Premiere” Prize at the International Opera Awards. Since then, this opera has been performed at the Prototype Festival and will {…}
“Opera Meets Film” is a feature dedicated to exploring the way that opera has been employed in cinema. We will select a section or a film in its entirety, highlighting the impact that utilizing the operatic form or sections from an opera can alter our perception of a film that we are viewing. This week’s installment we will go through {…}
Missy Mazzoli’s opera “Breaking the Waves” has been a hit over the last year and now it has been recognized by the Music Critics Association of North America with the Best New Opera Award. This is actually the first time the organization awards this very accolade. Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek will both be honored on July 19 at the {…}