MasterVoices is set to present a concert staging of the original version of Bizet’s “Carmen” on April 2, 2020 at the Rose Theater at Hazz at Lincoln Center. The opera, which was written by Halévy and Meilhac, will star Peabody Southwell as Carmen with tenor Noah Stewart as Don José and Nicole Cabell as Micaëla. Steven LaBrie stars as Escamillo. {…}
(Image Source: Opera North Facebook Page) Opera North has just announced its 2020-21 Season, featuring seven operas. Performance venues include the Leeds Grand Theatre, Theatre Royal Newcastle, The Lowry, and the Theatre Royal Nottingham for the first six operas. “Parsifal” will be performed at the Leeds Town Hall, Bridgewater Hall Manchester, Royal Concert Hall Nottingham, Sage Gateshead, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, {…}
On Feb. 23, 26 multidisciplinary venues throughout Québec will be showing Bizet’s “Carmen” on their screens as part of the Une Carmen pour tout le Québec event. For the event, the entire Opéra de Montréal team, in collaboration with SPEC du Haut-Richelieu, will be at the Cabaret-Théâtre du Vieux-Saint-Jean to celebrate this very first indoor screening in the company’s history, {…}
(Credit: Paul Marc Mitchell) The English National Opera is set to present Bizet’s “Carmen” starting on Jan. 29, 2020. The famed work will be presented in a production directed by Calixto Bieito that explores the relationship of the sexes at the end of Francisco Franco’s rule in Spain. This version is a co-production with the Den Norske Opera and Ballet. {…}
California-based Pocket Opera has announced its 2020 season which will feature five operas throughout the year, including a unique double bill. The season opens with Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” with Anders Froehlich in the title role. Chris Filipowicz, Kevin Gino, Mitchell Jones, Sara LeMesh, Jaime Korkos, and Rabihah Dunn will take on the other major roles in the opera. César Cañon {…}
(Credit: Yves Renaud) The appearance of opera in the cinemas is not a fad and it is not going away. The Opéra de Montréal has announced that on Feb. 23, 2020, it will be transmitting Bizet’s “Carmen” to 26 big screens around the Québec area. The recording that will be presented hails from a May 2019 performance by Opéra de {…}
If stuffy audiences at the Opéra-Comique first attacked George Bizet’s “Carmen” for its offensive content, today the opera runs the risk of seeming antiquated. Much of the music might get your toes tapping, but over-exposure risks making the most popular tunes seem trite or even parodic. Today’s audiences might not appreciate the orientalist take on Spanish culture that was so {…}
(Credit: Dario Acosta) Sarah Mesko is walking a straight path toward an important career. The Arkansas native has built her success on solid academic training and noteworthy apprenticeships, and has received bundles of prestigious awards in return. She has performed with scores of professional companies in the United States, including the Met where she has paid her dues as a {…}
(Credit: NCPA Beijing) OperaVision is set to stream “Carmen” from the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing on Oct. 25, 2019. The famed Bizet masterwork will star María José Montiel in the title role with Warren Mok as Don José. Yuan Chenye will be Escamillo while Zhou Xiaolin will be Micaëla. Zhang Guoyong will conduct a production directed {…}
(Photo credit: Khalid AlBusaidi / ROHM) This review is for performances on Sept. 11 and 14, 2019. Writing a review after an initial performance of any run is a challenging proposition. You are essentially recording your views on a first impression without really getting a chance to see the full picture. There are many reasons why this is the case, {…}
New York-based ensemble MasterVoices has announced its 2019-20 season. Music Director Ted Sperling will lead a concert staging of George and Ira Gershwin’s musical “Let ‘Em Eat Cake.” Bryce Pinkham stars as President Wintergreen, alongside Christopher Fitzgerald, Solea Pfeiffer, Chuck Cooper, Fred Applegate, and Kevin Chamberlin. The performance, to be held at Carnegie Hall, will feature choreography by Andrew Palermo, {…}