Credit: Danae Kinova The Olympia City Music Theatre Maria Callas has unveiled its 2023-24 season, which includes three operas in both staged productions and concert versions. The season features a blend of Greek artists and international stars, including a concert by soprano Julie Fuchs. For the purposes of this article only opera and classical voice performances are listed. The season {…}
(Credit: © Tessa Traeger) On Sept. 26, Carlo Rizzi opened the Metropolitan Opera for the third time in his career. However, that experience was unique because he was conducting “Medea” for the time ever. And it’s just the first of three works at the Met this season. A few days after the opening, the conductor returned to the podium to {…}
(Credit: Marty Sohl) The Metropolitan Opera is set to take Cherubini’s “Medea” to movie theaters around the world on Oct. 22, 2022. The broadcast, which kicks off at 12:55 p.m. Eastern time, is conducted by Carlo Rizzi and stars Sondra Radvanovksy in the title role. She is joined by Matthew Polenzani, Janai Brugger, and Michele Pertusi. David McVicar directs with {…}
(Credit: Presto Music website) Bulgarian soprano superstar Sonya Yoncheva will release her new album “Rebirth” on March 12, 2021. The album, which will be released by Sony Classical, will spotlight works by Claudio Monteverdi, Francesco Cavalli, Barbara Strozzi, John Dowland, Tomás de Torrejón y Velasco Sánchez, and Alessandro Stradella, among others. The album will also include the popular Bulgarian folk {…}
(Credit: James Hole) Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen will release a new album on March 26, 2021. The album, which will be released by Decca Classics, will spotlight works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Richard Wagner, Luigi Cherubini, Pietro Mascagni, and Giuseppe Verdi, including the arias “Pace Pace” from “La Forza del destino,” “Ave Maria, piena di grazia” from “Otello,” “Dei tuoi {…}
(Credit: Athole Still Artists official website) Conductor Andrew Greenwood has died. Greenwood was born in Yorkshire. He graduated from Clare College, Cambridge. He went on to join the music staff at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden from 1977 until 1984. He then became a Chorus Master at the Welsh Opera until 1990. He served as Artistic Director of the {…}
Cherubini’s claim to fame in the opera world is “Médée,” which had its world premiere on March 13, 1797. The work didn’t really receive a good reception, but it did return to the repertory in the 20th century, usually in an Italian version that featured recitatives replacing the French spoken dialogue. There are also German versions of the work, though {…}
Opera Omaha was handed a dilemma in its inaugural ONE Festival when it was forced to replace the title role in Fiona Shaw’s version of “Medea,” a co-production with the Wexford Festival Opera, due to illness less than three weeks before the show. The solution was inelegant but probably the best that could be mustered under the circumstances with an {…}
In order to successfully produce any work for the theatre, be it an opera or otherwise, a director must have a clear vision of the themes they wish to explore or highlight, and of the means by which they will present them, so that the audience can engage with the work in an intelligent and meaningful way. Fiona Shaw, the {…}