This week two full opera recordings will be released–a solo recital, and a choral album. Here is a look at what you can stream this week. Cendrillon Massenet’s rarely performed work gets released in a production by Fiona Shaw from the Glyndebourne Festival. The new DVD stars Nina Minasyan, Danielle de Niese, Kate Lindsey, Lionel Lhote, and Agnes Zwierko. John Wilson conducts {…}
In keeping with last week’s themes of dialogue regarding racial equality in the opera world, we highly recommend checking out the several online shows such as Karen Slack’s “KikiKonversations,” Kenneth Overton’s “Black Opera Live,” and The Sitdown with LB,” hosted by Lawrence Brownlee. There is also a new conversation from Long Beach Opera regarding “Equity & Diversity in the Arts” that is {…}
OperaVision has announced that it will present a Summer Gala on Sunday, June 21, 2020, at 7 p.m. CET. The gala will be presented in collaboration with several opera companies including the Dutch National Opera Amsterdam, Komische Oper Berlin, Glyndebourne, Teatro Real Madrid, Opéra Comique Paris, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Royal Swedish Opera Stockholm and Polish National Opera Warsaw. Among {…}
For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown theaters around the world, the Metropolitan Opera has announced not one but two weeks of nightly streams in advance. The next few weeks feature a mix of more recent performances with some classic showcases from decades ago. Here’s the rundown. Monday, May 25 – Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust Conducted by James {…}
There are a lot of opera stars born in April. They include the likes of Walter Berry, Leonard Warren, Monserrat Caballe, Lily Pons, Mariela Devia, Franco Corelli, Sondra Radvanovsky, Danielle De Niese, Natalie Dessay, Fiorenza Cossotto, Siegfried Jerusalem, Gianni Raimondi, Leo Nucci, Italo Tajo, and several others. So to celebrate the April birthdays we are going to dedicate this quiz {…}
There is a famous painting by Gustave Moreau called “Thracian Girl Carrying the Head of Orpheus on His Lyre” from 1865. The foreground shows exactly what the title describes. The background is harder to make out: some people are gathered on a cliff, one of them playing an aulos. Small tortoises walk near the Thracian woman’s feet, happily sauntering about {…}
Article in collaboration with Dejan Vukosavljevic The Hamburg State Opera has announced its 2020-21 season featuring six new productions and a number of revivals. Here is a look at the season. Oper Stabile Penderbayne’s “Unser kleines Scheißkaff” will be performed by Larissa Wäspy, Kady Evanyshyn, Ida Aldrian, Nicholas Mogg, Hubert Kowalczyk, Peter Galliard, and Katja Pieweck. Ingmar Beck conducts the {…}
(Credit: Claire McAdams / Vanessa Preziose) Most people recognize that there is a major world premiere taking place this weekend. But the reality is that there are two. The weekend is also full of appetizing offerings and this weekend’s selections come down to a mix of classics with star casts as well as a Spanish-language masterpiece that undeniably deserves greater {…}
(Credit: Steven Laxton) The LA Opera is set to showcase the world premiere of composer, conductor, writer, pianist, and 2018 MacArthur Fellow Matthew Aucoin’s “Eurydice.” The company will present six performances with star soprano Danielle de Niese and Joshua Hopkins in leading roles. The cast will also feature Rod Gilfry, John Holiday, Barry Banks, Stacey Tappan, Raehann Bryce-Davis, and Matthew {…}
(Credit: Brescia/Amisano – Teatro alla Scala) It is surprising that G.F. Handel’s “Giulio Cesare in Egitto” has had only one previous outing (back in 1956) at Milan’s Teatro alla Scala, as it is perhaps a work rich in veins of Italian national pride: a heroic tale based upon the valor and moral fortitude of one of Rome’s most glorious emperors, {…}
(Credit: Teatro Regio di Torino/Royal Opera/Bilbao Opera This weekend is filled with new productions, season openings, role debuts and some of operas greatest masterpieces. Lolita – Prague State Opera, Czech Republic Rodion Shchedrin’s new opera gets another performance at the Estates Theatre with Pelageya Kurennaya in the title role, as well as Petr Sokolov, Alexander Kravets, Daria Rositskaya, Michaela Zajmi, {…}