Within Wagner’s famed tetralogy, the third installment, “Siegfried,” might be the least popular or well-known. But there is no doubt that it is as crucial as any and might actually be the one most important in establishing dramatic balance across the four works. Among its major dramatic tasks is establishing the “Ring Cycle’s” major hero and bridging the musico-dramatic gap {…}
Within the last quarter of the 20th century, there was perhaps no dramatic soprano as influential as Deborah Voigt. Born August 4th, 1960, the American soprano is most celebrated for her interpretations by Strauss and Wagner, and other German composers. Though Voigt’s repertoire ranges from bel canto to new American premieres, the “down to earth diva” had most of her {…}
Philippe Jordan is going to conduct the Met’s revival of Wagner’s “Der Ring des Nibelungen” in 2019, the New York Times has revealed. Met General Manager Peter Gelb recently confirmed that the Robert Lepage production would return for its third revival in a playbill statement from the 2016-17 season. He promised that the machine, which debuted during the 2010-11 season, {…}
Nowadays, performing Wagner’s “Ring Cycle” exactly as the composer intended is looked down upon. In fact, in today’s opera climate, historically accurate performances are far from the norm and somewhat of a lost, if not dead, art. But Kent Nagano doesn’t care and alongside the Concerto Köln, he is looking to exhume that past and give it new life. That {…}
Happy Father’s Day! Fathers are those we turn to in moments of need, who set great examples by which we can live by and, the best, seek out ways to enrich our lives every day. Opera has quite the list of famous fathers, and unlike the mothers, who are often portrayed negatively, fathers come in all shapes and sizes. So {…}
German tenor Manfred Jung has passed away at age 76. The tenor is perhaps best known for taking on the role of Siegfried in “Götterdämmerung” for Bayreuth’s centennial Ring cycle and also appeared at the 1975 Salzburg Easter Festival under the direction of Herbert Von Karajan. He was lauded for his work and even obtained a prize from Orpheus magazine. {…}
The Vienna State Opera is presenting over 50 operas next season and that can be overwhelming for any opera lover trying to pick out what they want to see. After analyzing the immense season, OperaWire has selected what we think will be unmissable nights at the Vienna State Opera. Adriana Lecouvreur The revival of this famed production marks the second {…}
The Deutsche Oper am Rhein has announced its 2017-18 season, which will feature 10 new productions and 19 revivals for a total of 29 works. Here is a breakdown of the major operas and stars appearing with the company next season. The Ring The big announcement for the company is the return of Wagner’s “Der Ring des Nibelungen.” Two new {…}
The Bayerische Staatsoper has announced its 2017-18 season, which will feature a whopping six new productions and a total of 41 operas. The season opens in Japan in September with the “Così fan tutte” officially kicking things off in Munich at the end of the month. The New Productions The first new production of the year will be Mozart’s “Le {…}
The San Francisco Opera announced its 2017-18 season and this season the company will be presenting five operas and the complete Ring Cycle. As with every season, there are always exciting new productions and great classics to see. But what artists should audiences be on the lookout for? The following is a list of the five stars that cannot be {…}
The San Francisco has announced its 2017-18 season with major classics making a return to the house and one significant world premiere slated to close out 2017. The big announcement of the day was that this season is music director Nicola Liusiotti’s last with the company, though it was hinted that the company would find ways to have him return {…}