This week, baroque dominates the forthcoming releases. One of the new albums showcases the latest solo effort by one of today’s leading countertenors, while the other showcases a recent production from an Italian festival. Cavalli: Ombra mai fù Countertenor Philippe Jaroussky releases a new album made up of vocal and instrumental highlights from more than a dozen of Francesco Cavalli’s {…}
This week there are a number of new productions as well as classic works being performed. There is also one opera that is being showcased in two different theaters with two all-star casts; it is for this reason that we simply could not overlook it. Check out our recommendations in alphabetical order by company. Karl V – Bayerische Staatsoper, Germany {…}
Th Rossini Opera Festival has announced the complete lineup of the upcoming 2019 editions, The festival will include three opera productions and a number of operatic concerts featuring some of the greatest Rossini singers. Main Stage The festival opens with a new production of “Semiramide” by Graham Vick. Michele Mariotti conducts the production, which stars Salome Jicia in the title {…}
Jessica Pratt has announced the release of a recording of Donizetti’s “Il Castello di Kenilworth.” The soprano announced via Facebook that the recent production at the Donizetti Opera Festival was slated to be released on DVD/Blu-ray and CD in the Spring of 2019. The production, which was the centerpiece of the festival, starred Jessica Pratt and Carmela Remigio and was {…}
Donizetti certainly had an intimate relationship with England’s Queen Elizabeth I, and with the Tudors in general, who provided him with a rich source of characters and themes for his operas. Three works have substantial roles for Elizabeth, herself; “Maria Stuarda” and “Roberto Devereux” are well-known and receive regular performances, whereas the third, “Il Castello di Kenilworth,” rarely receives a {…}
This weekend, it’s all about new productions. From South America to Europe, three of Verdi’s greatest opera are getting new productions. Meanwhile, Saint-Saëns’ masterpiece is getting a rare performance while the Festival Donizetti is in full swing. Check it out. La Traviata – Teatro Municipal Enrique Buenaventura, Colombia Federico Figueroa directs a new production of “La Traviata” in Cali starring Gabriela {…}
Known as “Madame Mozart” and a passionate Bel Canto singer, Carmela Remigio has forged her career as one of the leading Italian sopranos of her generation. Not only has she sung a number of Mozart roles, but she has also taken on the challenges in the works of Verdi, Puccini, Tchaikovsky, and Stravinsky. As a Bel Canto singer, she is {…}
The Teatro Comunale di Bologna has announced its 2019 season with 10 productions all year. The Italian company is giving its native repertory most of the stage-time, with a total of seven productions this season; there are two German works and one in English, that will also appear. So let’s dive in and break it down. “Il Trovatore” opens the {…}
The 2018-19 season is about to start with numerous new productions, revivals and world premieres. With a ton of selections to be sure in many of the world’s greatest houses, we whittled it down to the 10 Must-See productions operas that you cannot miss this fall. Medée – Berlin State Opera Sonya Yoncheva takes on her 50th role in Cherubini’s rarely {…}
OperaWire was lucky enough to catch up with the wonderfully talented soprano Carmela Remigio, during the Festival della Valle d’Itria in Martina Franca, where she sang Armida in Handel’s “Rinaldo.” Known as “Madame Mozart” in Italy, owing to her close association with Mozart’s operas, and especially “Don Giovanni,” her repertoire is, in fact, far wider. In 2019, she is scheduled {…}
In 2012, a version of Handel’s “Rinaldo,” written for Naples in 1718, was discovered in a castle in England. It is a reconstructed version, by a lesser-known baroque composer, Leonardo Leo, who had also included parts by Vivaldi and numerous other composers. This pastiche is the version that is being performed at the Festival della Valle d’Itria, 300 years after {…}