(Credit: Royal Opera) I suppose anything with “Destiny” in the title will always be a bit profound. In fact, “La Forza” is about as profound and gloomy, if not downright dark as it gets, even by Verdi’s standards. At around four and a half hours, it’s also his longest work. It’s a story of love, death, and revenge. Mainly revenge. {…}
Opera, especially Grand Opera, has always had a predilection for throwing up stories that test the boundaries of credibility and border on indelicacy, and Verdi operas frequently bask in both. “Don Carlo,” one of Verdi’s later works although arguably written whilst in his prime, is a truly convoluted tale, mostly fictional although involving true historical figures, that involves conflict, war, {…}
The Teatro Regio di Parma announces its 2024 season. Rossini’s “Il barbiere di Siviglia” will star Maxim Mironov, Marco Filippo Romano, Maria Kateava, Andrzej Filończyk, and Roberto Tagliavini. Diego Ceretta conducts. Performance Dates: Jan. 12-20, 2024 Nina Minasyan, John Osborn, Lodovico Filippo Ravizza, and Roberto de Candia star in Donizetti’s “L’Elisir d’Amore.“ Sesto Quatrini conducts Daniele Menghini’s production. Performance Dates: {…}
The Teatro alla Scala has announced ts 2023-24 season. The season opens with Verdi’s “Don Carlo” which will star René Pape, Francesco Meli, Luca Salsi, Ain Anger, Anna Netrebko, and Elīna Garanča. Riccardo Chailly conducts a production by Lluis Pasqual. Maria Jose Siri and Ekaterina Semenchuk perform the final two performances. Performance Dates: Dec. 7, 2023-Jan. 2, 2024 Sonya Yoncheva {…}
The Opéra de Lyon has announced its 2023-24 season. Opera The season kicks off with “Die Frau ohne Schatten” in a production by Mariusz Trelinski. Daniele Rustioni conducts a cast starring Sara Jakubiak, Josef Wagner, Ambur Braid, and Vincent Wolfsteiner. Performance Dates: Oct. 17 – 31, 2023 Daniele Rustioni conducts “Adriana Lecouvreur” with Elena Stikhina in the title role. The {…}
The Opéra de Paris has announced its 2023-24 Season featuring many new productions and many of the great stars in the world. Alexander Soddy conducts Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” with a cast that includes Peter Mattei, Kyle Ketelsen, Adela Zaharia, Julia Kleiter, Ben Bliss, Cyrille Dubois, John Relyea, Gaëlle Arquez, Tara Erraught, Alex Esposito, Bogdan Talos, Guilhem Worms, Ying Fang, and {…}
The Théâtre des Champs-Elysées has announced its 2023-24 season featuring opera, opera in concert, and recitals. Here is a look at the vocal performances of the season. Opera Thomas Hengelbrock conducts Rossini’s “La Cenerentola” in a production by Damiano Michieletto. Marina Viotti, Levy Sekgapane, Edward Nelson, and Peter Kálmán. Performance Dates: Oct. 9-19, 2023 Mozary’s “Die Zauberflöte” will be conducted {…}
Photo: Fay Fox Brian Jagde spent his early voice coaching years under his teachers’ misguided notion that he was a baritone. Born in Long Island, New York, and raised just outside New York City, he eventually obtained both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in voice. Under the guidance of New York voice coach Michael Paul, he switched to tenor and went {…}
The Teatro dell’Opera di Roma is set to celebrate Franco Zeffirelli’s centenary with Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci.” The work, which is set to be presented between March 12 and 19, was created in 1992 for the Opera di Roma. Daniel Oren conducts the production with Nino Machaidze and Valeria Sepe singing the role of Nedda, Brian Jagde and Luciano Ganci as Canio, {…}
The Metropolitan Opera has announced a new cast change for its “Aida” performance Dec. 17. The company noted that tenor Limmie Pulliam will make his Met debut as Radamès, replacing Brian Jagde, who was originally scheduled to sing. Pulliam has performed with the LA Opera, Vashon Opera, Livermore Valley Opera, and the Cleveland Orchestra. His repertoire includes the works of {…}
The Metropolitan Opera will reprise Verdi’s “Aida” in a staging by Sonja Frisell, which will mark the last time the production will be seen on the Met stage. The production, which premiered in 1988, has been performed over 240 times and features production designer Gianni Quaranta’s sets. The revival will be performed 15 times from Dec. 3, 2022 through April {…}