When many people think of opera, Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” is undeniably one of the first ones to come to mind. The work, which premiered aptly on Oct. 29, 1787, is perfect for the Halloween spirit with its shapeshifting nature and its blend of numerous genres. It’s opening notes frighten, but before long the work moves from a drama about sexual {…}
The Stone Guest, standing at the back of the stage, offers Don Giovanni his hand and demands that he repent for his dissolute life. Staying true to his nature, Don Giovanni refuses and, amid the flames and screams, is dragged down to Hell, bringing the scene to an end. As usual, many in the audience assume the opera has finished. The {…}
So much is Don Juan’s tale the stuff of legend that it lends itself as easily to various interpretations as Greek myths. For every legendary story that encounters many incarnations – be it Tristan and Isolde’s love, Medea’s filicide or Romeo and Juliet – there comes a time when it is not only acceptable, but fascinating to encounter the familiar {…}
Italian bass Ezio Pinza, born on May 18, 1892, never learned to read music. But that didn’t stop him from enjoying a massively successful career. The bass grew up in Ravenna and would study in Bologna. He made his Operatic debut in 1914 at Cremona. After four years of Military service during World War I, he made his La Scala {…}
The Royal Opera House and BP will celebrate their 30-year partnership this summer with two opera screenings and one ballet. Now in its 30th year, the partnership between BP and the Royal Opera House will present a new production of “Swan Lake” on June 12, 2018 followed by Puccini’s “La Bohème” on June 26, 2018 and Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” on July {…}
With the New York Opera Fest 2018 officially underway, OperaWire will be showcasing small previews for each major participant at the festival, as we did during last year’s event. However, we are doing things a bit differently this year and giving the floor directly to each company to speak to you, the reader, directly. Enjoy! Heartbeat Opera has a penchant {…}
The Opéra National de Paris has announced its cinema season for the 2018-19 season. Here is a look at the works that you can expect to see on the silver screen. Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots (Oct. 4, 2018): The season begins with Meyerbeer’s grand opera starring Bryan Hymel, Diana Damrau, Ermonela Jaho, and Nicolas Testé. Michele Mariotti conducts Andreas Kriegenburg’s new production. Verdi’s {…}
On May 23, 2018, St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral will be the venue where Divaria Productions showcases their new work “Don Giovanni in New York,” which follows the historical events preceding the American premiere of Mozart’s classic work 192 years ago. The work, presented in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of New York, has an original script that weaves together {…}
American baritone Craig Verm will take over the run of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” at the Dallas Opera. The company announced that Verm will sing the title role in the final three performances, replacing the originally scheduled Mariusz Kwiecien who was forced to cancel due to illness. Originally scheduled to sing the role of Masetto, Verm will be replaced by bass-baritone {…}
In August, The New Generation Festival will be returning to the gardens of Florence’s Palazzo Corsini following a successful first year. Highlights of this year’s festival will be its staging of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” and Shakespeare’s “Henry V,” performed with live orchestration for the first time. Bringing audiences a taste of what the summer will have in store, The New {…}
On April 9, 2018, audiences will gather at London’s Coliseum for the International Opera Awards to honor those who come from across the globe to make opera what it is today. Among them will be Armenia soprano Anush Hovhannisyan, who is coming off a massive success in 2017 when she was among the contestants for the BBC Cardiff Singer of {…}