The Metropolitan Opera has announced its 2019-20 season with five new productions, a New Year’s Eve gala, and a recital. Here is a look at what to expect. New Productions The season opens with Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess” in a new production by James Robinson. The production stars Eric Owens and Kevin Short sharing the title role of Porgy and {…}
Carnegie Hall has announced its 2019-20 season! The 2019-20 season will honor the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth with over 35 performances celebrating the composer’s work and impact and will be dedicated to violinist, educator, and activist Isaac Stern, 2020 marking the centenary of his birth. We will focus primarily on vocal performances in this season announcement. Orchestras The first {…}
This week, two major releases will be available commercially by three of the most acclaimed artists in the industry. Here is a look at what we recommend this week. Wolf: Italienisches Liederbuch Diana Damrau and Jonas Kaufmann team up for an album that puts a spotlight on Wolf’s complete Italian Lieder with pianist Helmut Deutsch. The new CD comes after {…}
The Met Opera will continue its Live in HD series this Saturday, Dec 15, 2018, with a performance of Verdi’s “La Traviata.” The broadcast, which kicks off 12:55 p.m. Eastern time, is set Diana Damrau as the lead heroine with Quinn Kelsey as Germont, and Juan Diego Flórez as her lover Alfredo. This is Damrau’s fifth HD broadcast with her {…}
Audiences who wanted something more traditional visually will be happy with this new “Traviata,” though one hopes that the clumsiness of the staging and the exaggerated color scheme of the costumes will get some sort of revisions for future iterations.
The Metropolitan Opera will open a new production of Verdi’s “La Traviata” on Monday, Dec. 4, 2018. The new production is hotly anticipated for a number of reasons. First off, it represents the first opera under new Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin. The maestro will be doing his second run of “La Traviata” with the company. He previously conducted seven performances {…}
Erato has announced the release of Diana Damrau’s latest album alongside Jonas Kaufmann and Helmut Deutsch. The recital, which is set to include Hugo Wolf’s Italienisches Liederbuch, was recorded live from the Alfried Krupp Saal of the Philharmonie in the German city of Essen. The album also comes on the heels of Damrau and Kaufmann’s tour which they started in {…}
For just the third time in Metropolitan Opera history, Bizet’s “Les Pêcheurs de Perles” will receive a revival. The opera had its Met premiere on Jan. 11, 1896, but only two of its acts were performed. The first full performance of the opera would have to wait 20 years when it appeared on opening night, Nov. 13, 1916. The cast {…}
On Oct. 14, 2018, the first annual Opus Klassik awards were handed out to top artists in the world of classical music. Juan Diego Flórez was awarded the Male Singer of the Year Award, while soprano Diana Damrau was announced as the Female Singer of the Year. Flórez took homes the award for his acclaimed “Mozart” album, which was also his {…}
Diana Damrau has canceled her participation at the BBC Proms festival. The soprano, who recently canceled her role debut in Opera National de Paris’ new production of “Les Huguenots,” is now stepping out of her upcoming August 29, 2018, Proms concert. As a result, not one but two sopranos will fill in. Miah Persson will perform four Strauss songs, while {…}
Diana Damrau has canceled her upcoming performances in Meyerbeer’s “Les Huguenots.” The Opéra de Paris announced that due to illness the soprano would not be making her role debut as Marguerite de Valois. As a result, Lisette Oropesa will replace Damrau. Oropesa is coming off some of her most acclaimed performances in her career. Her “Lucia di Lammermoor” received rousing {…}