This week audiences can hear the latest album by one of the most exciting artists in opera right now as well as a new exciting works. There are also rarely performed works, a DVD of a recent world premiere and a new album by a famed mezzo. Let’s take a look. Beethoven Wagner Verdi Lise Davidsen releases her second album {…}
The Festival Aix-En-Provence has announced its 2021 season. The French festival will showcase Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde” conducted by Sir Simon Rattle and directed by Simon Stone. The production will star Stuart Skelton, Nina Stemme, Jamie Barton, Franz-Josef Selig, and Josef Wagner. Premiere Date: July 2, 2021 Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro” will be conducted by Thomas Hengelbrock and directed by {…}
October is at an end and opera season is in full force. This weekend features a plethora of fascinating options across the country, making it truly challenging to single out a few specific performances. And despite the high quality all around, we zeroed in on a few showcases that we feel really rise to the top. Here are our top {…}
Conceiving an artistically defining experience that tells the story of Faust as an opera might seem overwhelming and too intense of an idea. Especially when one considers how this story was composed and experienced by Berlioz in concert form and that portraying Faust’s journey to hell, could be hell itself. In “La damnation de Faust,” Berlioz emphasizes the lord of {…}
The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra has announced its 2019-20 season. For the purposes of this article, we will focus on vocal performances. Soprano Anna Crookes will be joined by flutist Fiona Fulton, cellist Jonathan Aasgaard, and pianist Ian Buckle of Pixels Ensemble to perform works by Hildegard of Bingen, Dani Howard, George Crumb, Luciano Berio, and Maurice Ravel. Performance Date: {…}
Two rarities make up this week’s major releases. One is a world premiere recording and the other is a rarely performed choral piece. Both recordings have incredibly well-established casts led by two masters. Here are our recommendations for this week’s major releases. L’Ange de Nisida Donizetti’s rediscovered work gets it world premiere recording from a live performance at the Royal Opera {…}
Opera North has announced its new season featuring seven operas and two new productions. Here is a look at what to expect! The season opens with Bohuslav Martinů “The Greek Passion” in a new production by Christopher Alden. Gary Walker conducts the masterful score with a cast headed by Nicky Spence, Magdalena Molendowska, Paul Nilon, Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts, Stephen Gadd, John Savournin, Steven {…}
Christopher Purves follows up his successful Handel aria recording with a second volume entitled “Handel’s Finest Arias Volume 2.” The second album will include an array of lesser-known Handel works, including the virtuoso tour de force “Nell’ africane selve,” which brings the charismatic British baritone’s remarkable technique and vocal range powerfully to the fore. Jonathan Cohen will conduct the Arcangelo in an {…}
Alan Gilbert is saying goodbye to the New York Philharmonic as music director. It ends a tenure that brought significant new works and experimented with the standard repertoire alongside one of the finest orchestras in the world. But Gilbert has made sure to make opera a mainstay for the New York Philharmonic so it is no surprise that he ends his {…}
George Benjamin’s “Written on Skin” makes its return to the Royal Opera House on Friday, Jan. 13 for five performances. The opera, Benjamin’s first full-length work in the genre, had its premiere at the 2012 Aix-en-Provence Festival and then arrived at the Royal Opera House in 2013. The work is divided into 15 scenes and takes place in 13th Century {…}
