Dutch National Opera Launches “Soft Valkyrie” Podcast: A Lighter Version of Wagner’s “Die Walküre”

(Credit: David Kanaga, Jaap Dankert, Muhammad Desta Laksana, Danika Perkinson) The Dutch National Opera launched a new podcast series, “Soft Valkyrie,” on June 3. Presented by American composer and game designer David Kanaga, the episodic radio play presents Wagner’s “Die Walküre” in completely electronic form. The podcast is a production of Dutch National Opera, Holland Festival, and Staatsoper Hannover. Billed {…}

May 27, 2021

Bayerische Staatsoper 2020-21 Review: ‘Die Walküre,’ Act I

The first Act of “Die Walküre” is undeniably a grand love song. Wagner’s dramatization of the encounter between Siegmund and Sieglinde—the Walsüng twins—is a remarkable and thrilling experience; even when it is an abridged concert version, performed in a faraway opera house with half a live audience, socially distanced, without the theatrical panoply of full-site production, full costumes and full {…}

May 27, 2021

Opera Meets Film: How Wagner’s ‘Ride of the Valkyries’ Informs Character & Theme in Fellini’s Iconic ‘8 1/2’

“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 Fellini’s {…}

Apr 30, 2021

Lise Davidsen To Perform Concert at Teatro alla Scala

(Credit: Ray Burmiston) Soprano Lise Davidsen will perform the concert at the Teatro alla Scala on May 10, 2021. The concert will be streamed on Raiplay from May 11, 2021 from 12 p.m. CET for a period of one week. The concert will be open to the audience within the limits of current Italian government’s COVID-19 legislation. Davidsen will present {…}

Apr 28, 2021

Nina Stemme, Stuart Skelton, Lise Davidsen, and Hanna-Elisabeth Müller Highlight Philharmonie de Paris Fall 2021 Season

(Photo Credits: Artists Management Zürich official website / Sim Canetty-Clarke / Ray Burmiston / Chris Gonz) Philharmonie de Paris has announced its fall 2021 season, which will run from Sep. 8 until Dec. 23, 2021. For the purpose of this article, we will focus on vocal works only. Soprano Christine Goerke and tenor Klaus Florian Vogt perform Richard Wagner’s works {…}

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 {…}

Apr 1, 2021

Opera Critic & Historian Fred Plotkin to Host Virtual Talk: ‘A Gay Romp Through Four Centuries of Opera’

(Photo credit: Frances Marshall) What’s opera about? Passion? Drama? Politics? Sex? All the above, of course, and it’s been that way since 1597, even in the face of censorship. Yet, the prohibitions around taboo topics such as politics and sex caused composers and librettists to get creative when including such material in their operas. Opera critic, author, and historian par {…}

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 19, 2021

San Francisco Opera Virtual Review 2021: Das Rheingold: ‘Die Walküre’

(Credit: Cory Weaver) From underwater to the wild and terrible world – Rhine Maidens to brother/sister love, father/daughter separation, gain to loss: in other words, “Die Walküre.” And what a “Walküre” it was! Spectacular projections – swirling winds, walloping storm waters, trees bending and swaying every which way, and Siegmund waking to love for Sieglinde, in a house in the {…}

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