This week audiences will get to hear the debut of one of opera’s brightest stars and a remastered classic. Black & Blue New York Festival of Song releases “Black & Blue,” the debut solo album of British-American tenor Joshua Blue on its in-house label NYFOS Records. The album was recorded at Big Orange Sheep in November 2022, and produced by {…}
On Mar. 12, 2023, the Metropolitan Opera revived and gave the Robert Carsen-directed “Falstaff” its season premiere, marking the company’s 193rd performance that crackled with energy and verve. There was electricity in the crowd, as well. At times, an opening night can feel like a final dress rehearsal. This was not one of those times. The show was tight and {…}
Verdi’s final opera, “Falstaff,” is set to return for six performances between March 12 and April 1. The production will star baritone Michael Volle in his first Verdi role at the Met and Ailyn Pérez in her acclaimed portrayal of Alice Ford. When she first sang the role at the Met, OperaWire said, “as Alice Ford, Ailyn Pérez put on {…}
The Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra has announced its line-up for the 2022-23 season. Led by Musical Director Aziz Shokhakimov in his second season, the Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra will take on multiple concerts, an international tour, and a four-year partnership with Medici.tv and Warner Classics for streaming and recording opportunities. This article will focus only on vocal performances. The opening work is {…}
Photo: Clive Barda 2022 ROH This first revival of Keith Warner’s production of Verdi’s “Otello” (libretto by longstanding collaborator Arrigo Boito) comes with a frisson of contextual excitement. Warner’s expressionist production opened in 2017 starring Gregory Kunde and Jonas Kaufmann, and tried to give the piece a more existentialist reading that turned away from the problems that skin color presents {…}
The Teatro San Carlo has announced its 2022-23 season. Here is a look at the performances. Opera The season opens with Verdi’s “Don Carlo” starring Matthew Polezani, Ernesto Petti, Ailyn Perez, Michele Pertusi, Elina Garanca, and Alexander Tsymbalyuk. Juraj Valcuha conducts the production by Claus Guth. Performance Dates: Nov. 26-Dec. 6, 2022 Lorezno Passarini conducts concert performances of Verdi’s “Rigoletto” {…}
This week audiences are in for a number of world premiere recordings, archival performances, and leading stars. Here is a look at what audiences can expect. Mỹ Lai The Kronos Quartet releases the world premiere recording of “Mỹ Lai,” the acclaimed opera composed by Jonathan Berger with libretto by Harriet Scott Chessman, on Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. “Mỹ Lai” features vocalist {…}
(Credit: Brinkhoff/Mögenburg) The Berlin State Opera is set to revive Bartlett Sher’s production of Verdi’s “Rigoletto.” The production, which premiered in 2019, will star Christopher Maltman who reprises the title role, Erin Morley as Gilda, and Saimir Pirgu as the Duke of Mantua. Grigory Shkarupa and Marina Prudenskaya round out the cast as Sparafucile and Maddalena. Ivan Repušić conducts. When {…}
The first week of the year sees several high profile releases like Lise Davidsen’slatest album and three full recordings on both DVD and CD. Here is a look at this week’s new releases. Juliana “Juliana,” a chamber opera composed by Joseph Phibbs, with a libretto by Laurie Slade, is due to be released by Resonus Classics on all major streaming {…}
(Credit: Antoni Bofill) The Gran Teatre del Liceu has announced the upcoming performances of Verdi’s “Rigoletto.” The opera will star Benjamin Bernheim, Saimir Pirgu and Josep Bros in the role of Duca di Mantua; Olga Peretyatko and Aigul Khismatullina as Gilda; Grigory Shkarupa and Liang Li in the role of Sparafucile; Rinat Shaham and Nino Surguladze as Maddalena; and Christopher {…}
CueTV is set to present “Zazà” starting on Nov. 4, 2021. The Leoncavallo opera is a performance from the Theater an der Wien that dates from 2020. The opera was directed by Christof Loy with conductor Stefan Soltész leading a cast that includes Svetlana Aksenova, Enkelejda Shkosa, Dorothea Herbert, Juliette Mars, Nikolai Schukoff, Vittoria Antonuzzo, Christopher Maltman, Tobias Greenhalgh, Paul {…}