Anita Rachvelishvili, Liudmyla Monastyrska & Russell Thomas Highlight Deutsche Oper Berlin’s June Performances

(Credits: Dario Acosta / Opéra National de Paris official website / Fay Fox) The Deutsche Oper Berlin has announced that it will reopen its doors to the audiences in June 2021, after seven month-long hiatus. Per the official press release, the reopening is epidemiologically possible as the seven-day COVID-19 incidence in Berlin has gone below the critical value of 100. {…}

Apr 9, 2021

The Ring in San Francisco: ‘I Saw The World End’ & ‘Kip’ Cranna’s Exploration of Wagner’s Tetralogy

San Francisco Opera is in the midst of its month-long festival dedicated to Wagner’s “Ring Cycle.” In the coming weeks, Lois Silverstein will explore her experience not only revisiting the 2018 opera production but several of the events and panels presented by the company. A delightful and informative series of lectures on “The Ring” comes from Dr. Clifford “Kip” Cranna, Dramaturg {…}

Mar 31, 2021

The Ring in San Francisco – Francesca Zambello & Production Designer Michael Yeargan Head Panel on Wagner the Environmentalist

San Francisco Opera is in the midst of its month-long festival dedicated to Wagner’s “Ring Cycle.” In the coming weeks, Lois Silverstein will explore her experience not only revisiting the 2018 opera production, but several of the events and panels presented by the company. The landscape of the American West became the environmental directive for the 2018 Ring for Francesca Zambello. {…}

Mar 29, 2021

The Ring in San Francisco – The History of Wagner’s Tetralogy in San Francisco

San Francisco Opera is in the midst of its month-long festival dedicated to Wagner’s “Ring Cycle.” In the coming weeks, Lois Silverstein will explore her experience not only revisiting the 2018 opera production but several of the events and panels presented by the company. Senior Communications Manager of San Francisco Opera Jeffery McMillan and San Francisco Opera Archivist Barbara Rominiski gave {…}

Mar 27, 2021

The Ring in San Francisco – Orchestra Members on Performing Wagner’s Magnus Opus

San Francisco Opera is in the midst of its month-long festival dedicated to Wagner’s “Ring Cycle.” In the coming weeks, Lois Silverstein will explore her experience not only revisiting the 2018 opera production, but several of the events and panels presented by the company. San Francisco Opera Director Matthew Shilvock moderated an excellent panel on the World of the “Ring” orchestra. {…}

Mar 18, 2021

Opera Meets Film: How Wagner’s ‘Das Rheingold’ Explores David’s Awakening in ‘Alien: Covenant’

“Opera Meets Film” is a feature dedicated to exploring the way that opera has been employed in cinema. We will select a film section or a film in its entirety and highlight the impact that utilizing the operatic form or sections from an opera can alter our perception of a film that we are viewing. This week’s installment features “Alien: {…}

Mar 17, 2021

San Francisco Opera Virtual Review 2021: Das Rheingold

(Credit: Cory Weaver) Some people might be looking for a hero in these days of pandemic, especially locked down at home. Throughout the month of March, San Francisco Opera (SFO) is offering one such hero: the Virtual Ring Festival. You read that right: a “hero” in the form of a quest. It is the quest to retrieve a stolen golden {…}

Mar 1, 2021

Leontyne Price, Juan Diego Flórez, Pretty Yende, Jamie Barton Headline Top 10 Operas to Stream This Week

I’m going to kick off this week’s edition of the top 10 operas to stream by saying that it is probably among the most varied from a repertory standpoint. You have your Verdi, Mozart, Strauss, and Wagner, of course. But then you also have music by African American composers, a baroque opera, a modern operatic classic, and even a recital {…}

Jan 7, 2021

Opera Meets Film: The Narrative & Emotional Nuance of Wagner’s ‘Das Rheingold’ in Herzog’s ‘Nosferatu the Vampyre

“Opera Meets Film” is a feature dedicated to exploring the way that opera has been employed in cinema. We will select a film section or a film in its entirety and highlight the impact that utilizing the operatic form or sections from an opera can alter our perception of a film that we are viewing. This week’s installment features Werner {…}

Dec 23, 2020

Pablo Heras-Casado Conducts Beethoven Symphony No. 9 in Tokyo

(Credit: Fernando Sancho) Spanish conductor Pablo Heras-Casado will conduct the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo for the performances of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 on Dec. 23, 25 & 26, 2020. The famed “Choral” symphony will showcase soprano Eri Takahashi, mezzo-soprano Etsuko Kanoh, tenor Naoki Miyasato, and baritone Shin Taniguchi. The presentation will also feature New National Theatre Chorus. Heras-Casado recently {…}