(Credit: Marco Borggreve) Famed Russian conductor Alexander Vedernikov has died at the age of 56, after having been diagnosed with COVID-19. Vedernikov died on Friday, Oct. 30 after being put on a ventilator for few days following the diagnosis. Born in Moscow, Vedernikov was the son of the bass Alexander Filipovich Vedernikov and Natalia Nikolaevna Gureeva. The conductor went on {…}
(Credit: Mara Zampieri official website) The Wiener Staatsoper has announced that soprano Mara Zampieri has canceled her appearances as Lucia in the run of Mascagni’s “Cavalleria Rusticana.” Per an official statement on the company’s website, the soprano, who belongs to the COVID-19 risk group, does not want to take the chances in traveling to Vienna and participating in the rehearsals {…}
(Credit: Simon Pauly) “The music is giving me what I need. Music has always given me what I needed in my life.” When the COVID-19 hurricane struck humanity in full force in March, tenor Martin Muehle was about to begin rehearsals for the supernatural opera “The Queen of Spades” at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. At that moment it was obvious {…}
“Opera Meets Film” is a feature dedicated to exploring the way that opera has been employed in cinema. We will select a film section or a film in its entirety and highlight 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 features Michael {…}
(Credit: © Gregor Hohenberg) The Metropolitan Opera Stars Live in Concert series continued this Sunday with a performance by the celebrated French-Italian tenor Roberto Alagna and Polish soprano Aleksandra Kurzak on the hilltop medieval village of Èze, France. On the outdoor terrace located at the Château de la Chèvre d’Or, Alagna and Kurzak were accompanied by the Vienna Morphing Quintet. {…}
(Photo Credit: Lichtgut/Christoph Schmidt/Christoph Schmidt) Staatsoper Stuttgart has announced its 2020-21 season, which is reduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here is the look. Mozart and Schikaneder’s famed singspiel “Die Zauberflöte” will open the season. The cast will include David Steffens and Michael Nagl in the role of Sarastro; Mingjie Lei and Kai Kluge in the role of Tamino; Beate {…}
The Seattle Opera has announced the cancellation its fall production of “Cavalleria Rusticana” and “Pagliacci.” The company revealed in a press statement that due to the global pandemic, it was forced to cancel the first production of the season. The cancellation will result in the loss of work for more than 220 singers, crew, and musicians. Additionally, with the end {…}
“Cavalleria Rusticana” and “Pagliacci” are often paired together in performance, and throughout history, this famed double bill has taken on a life of its own. Not only do the two works operate within a distinct musical and thematic style, but their brevity in length allows their intense emotions to hit home in very similar fashion. It’s characters, while distinct often {…}
For this week’s word search we turn to Mascagni’s famed opera “Cavalleria Rusticana” and look back at some notable interpreters of the role of Santuzza. Instructions: You are free to solve the word search directly on your mobile or desktop device; just click the first and last letter of each word for it to appear on the screen. For those {…}
This week only two major releases this week of notable operas from the standard repertory. Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci In time for Valentine’s Day, OEHMS is set to release a new recording of the famous double featuring the operas of Mascagni and Leoncavallo. The recording from Oper Graz stars Ezgi Kutlu as Santuzza, Aldo di Toro as Turiddu, Cheryl Studer as Lucia, {…}
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 {…}