Lineup for Richard Tucker Gala 2018 Announced, Featuring Christian Van Horn & Anna Netrebko

The Richard Tucker Foundation has announced its lineup for its 2018 gala concert celebrating Christian Van Horn’s recent Richard Tucker Award. The gala will see previous Richard Tucker winners Christine Goerke, Angela Meade, Nadine Sierra, Stephanie Blythe, and Michael Fabiano showcase their talents. Additionally, superstars Anna Netrebko, Javier Camarena, and Yusif Eyvazov will participate in the event. The starry lineup will be {…}

Royal Opera House 2017-2018 Review – Lohengrin: Christine Goerke Shines Among Solid Cast As Half-Awoken Myths Stay in the (Wartime) Trenches of Reality

Its preludes are themselves landmarks of beauty – but Wagner’s 1850 opera “Lohengrin” is a prelude to his future epics. Rooted in Arthurian legend, taking the son of King Parsifal as its hero, and featuring prayers to the pagan gods Wotan and Freia, it is another battle between the divine and the mortal. In mythical medieval Brabant, Count Friedrich von {…}

Top 5 Operas to See This Weekend – International (6/8-10): Klaus Florian Vogt, Francesco Meli & Elza Van Heever To Star This Weekend

This will be a weekend of new productions, closing nights, and role debuts. Two major stars return to signature roles while one rising star takes on her first Wagner role. Then there are two bel canto favorites and some verismo. Here is a look. Ernani – Opera de Marseille, France  Francesco Meli takes on the title role in Verdi’s early work {…}

The Edinburgh Festival 2018 To Present Five Operas Featuring Christine Goerke, Elizabeth DeShong & Michele Angelini

The Edinburgh Festival has announced its 2018 season with a number of opera productions scheduled to be performed. There are also a number of concerts, dance and theater performances, but for this announcement, we will focus on the operatic events. Productions The festival opens with a concert performance of Humperdinck’s “Hansel & Gretel” conducted by Sir Andrew Davis. The Royal Scottish {…}

Metropolitan Opera 2017-18 Review – Elektra: Yannick Nézet-Séguin Steals The Show In Strauss’ Most Violent Work

Richard Strauss’ “Elektra” returned to the Metropolitan Opera on Thursday, March 1, 2018, in a hotly anticipated revival of Patrice Chéreau’s production. Last time out, the production was a smash hit, its stripped-down sets allowing for the audience to focus on the violent drama put before us. It continues to work in that vein, though its overall stillness might not {…}

Metropolitan Opera 2017-18 Preview: Hildegard Behrens, Nina Stemme, Birgit Nilsson & The Met’s 22 ‘Elektra’ Interpreters

When Strauss’ “Elektra” returns to the stage on Thursday, March 1 at the Metropolitan Opera, it will take part 109th performance with the company. The role is often considered one of the most challenging in the repertoire, if not the most difficult. The soprano is tasked with a lengthy evening with barely any rest and no intermission to aid her {…}

Anna Netrebko, Elina Garanca & Jonas Kaufmann Headline Metropolitan Opera 2018-19 Season

The Metropolitan Opera has announced its 2018-19 season. Here is a rundown. New Productions  The Metropolitan Opera opens with Saint-Saëns’ “Samson et Dalila” in a new production by Darko Tresnjak. Roberto Alagna and Elina Garanca reunite for the production which is also set to star Laurent Naouri, Elchin Azizov, and Dmitry Belosselskiy. Anita Rachevlishvili and Aleksandrs Antonenko will sing a {…}