“Opera Meets Film is a feature dedicated to exploring the way that opera has been employed in cinema. We will hone in on a selection or a film in its entirety, highlighting the impact that utilizing the operatic form or sections from an opera can alter our perceptions of a film that we are viewing. This week’s installment features opera {…}
(Credit: Gerard Collett) On the eastern side of the Cape of Good Hope, at the very tip of South Africa, sits Port Elizabeth, a city with a population just shy of one million people. The population size matters because it makes soprano Vuvu Mpofu one in a million, a ratio perhaps not unlike the shot she had at making it {…}
(Credit: Javier del Real) The Teatro Real de Madrid kicked off 2020 with a revival of the successful production of “Die Zauberflöte” by Barrie Kosky and Suzanne Andrade-Paul Barrit, which was last seen in 2016. The staging is meant as an homage to silent movies and there are no sets, just a big white screen very close to the edge {…}
Soprano Aleksandra Jovanovic will not be appearing in the presentation of Mozart and Schikaneder’s “Die Zauberflöte” on February 8 at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, according to the official statement on the company’s website. As a result, soprano Antonina Vesenina will perform in her stead. Vesenina will join the cast that includes Tobias Kehrer, Andrei Danilov, Siobhan Stagg, Seth Carico, {…}
(Photo Credit: © Semperoper Dresden/Matthias Creutziger) Soprano Christiane Hossfeld will not be appearing in the role of Papagena in the upcoming presentation of Mozart’s “Die Zauberflöte” scheduled for January 24, 2020, according to the official statement on the company’s website. As a result, soprano Jeannette Oswald will perform in her stead. Oswald will join a cast that includes Tilmann Rönnebeck {…}
(This review will focus on the Jan. 4 performance, though with mentions of the Jan. 3 performance as well.) There is a moment near the end of Davide Livermore’s “Die Zauberflöte” at Muscat’s Royal Opera House of Musical Arts in which Tamino and Pamino must face the trials by fire and water with the magic flute in tow. But Livermore {…}
(source: BryonyDwyer.com) Soprano Andrea Carroll will not be performing in the final presentation of Mozart’s opera “Die Zauberflöte” at the Wiener Staatsoper, according to an official statement on the company’s website. The soprano has withdrawn due to illness. In her stead, audiences in Vienna will get a chance to hear soprano Bryony Dwyer as Pamina. Dwyer will join a cast {…}
The Semperoper Dresden has announced a cast change for its upcoming performance of “Die Zauberflöte.” The company announced that Dimitry Ivashchenko will sing Sarastro in the performance on June 14, replacing Tilmann Rönnebeck, who is ill. He also sings the final performance of the season on July 6, 2019. Ivashchenko is an acclaimed bass who has performed at the Metropolitan Opera, Deutsche {…}
(Photo: Bill Cooper) Having seen Graham Vick’s joyless production of “The Magic Flute” at last year’s Macerata Festival, which amounted to little more than a heavy-handed political rant, how refreshing and restorative it was to watch Welsh National Opera’s light, amusing and wholly positive production. Certainly, the work, probably more than most, is open to a variety of interpretations given {…}
“Opera Meets Film” is a feature dedicated to exploring the way that opera has been employed in cinema. We will select a section or a film in its entirety, highlighting 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 will take a look {…}
The Pacific Opera Project opened its 2019 season on March 2 with an ingenious production of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute,” set in classic video games from the 1980s. The fairy-tale story that premiered in Vienna in 1791 has lent itself over time to innumerable adaptations, and is often used as a way to attract children to the opera hall. With {…}