(Photo credit: Marty Sohl) This review was written in collaboration with David Salazar. On April 23, the Metropolitan Opera opened a new production of “Lucia di Lammermoor.” This marked the second production of Donizetti’s masterpiece during General Manager Peter Gelb’s term. In 2007, the company brought a production by Mary Zimmerman which set the piece in Victorian times and {…}
(Credit: Javier del Real) On the 30th of March the acclaimed American soprano Lisette Oropesa offered a solo recital at Madrid’s Teatro Real. She presented an interesting program, mostly in French, of six rarely performed arias and two encores. Being a lirico leggera soprano, half of her arias kept her voice in the middle register and showcased little coloratura and {…}
The Opera Buffs are set to present “An Evening of Donizetti” on May 13, 2022. The company will present two scenes from Acts one and two from “Lucia di Lammermoor” followed by Act one from “La Fille du Régiment.” “Lucia” will star Michelle Drever in the title role with Ben Lowe as Enrico, Jesús León as Edgardo, Chris Hunter as {…}
The Vienna State Opera has announced a cast change for the Feb. 22, 2022 performance of “Anna Bolena.” For the second time in this run, Nicholas Brownlee will join the famed opera, taking on the role of Enrico VIII. He joins a cast starring Diana Damrau in the title role with Ekaterina Semenchuk as Giovanna Seymour and Pene Pati as {…}
Random Opera is set to stream its production of “L’Elisir d’Amore” starting on Feb. 10, 2022. The opera was directed by Richard Tegid Jones and conducted Kelvin Lim. The cast includes soprano Julieth Lozano as Adina, Andrew Henley as Nemorino, Mike Dewis as Belcore, Becca Madden as Giannetta, and the director himself, Richard Tegid Jones, as Dr. Dulcamara. The opera’s {…}
(Credit: Teatro Lirico di Cagliari official website) The Teatro Lirico di Cagliari has announced its 2022 season, featuring five operas. Here is a full slate. Operas Martina Serafin, Marta Mari, Elena Schirru, Antonello Palombi, Mickael Spadaccini, Roberto Frontali, Leon Kim, Giuseppina Piunti, Alessandro Spina, Christian Collia, and Patrizio La Placa star in the Leo Muscato’s production of Licinio Refice’s “Cecilia.” {…}
(Credit: Wiener Staatsoper official website) The Wiener Staatsoper has announced the slate of operas that it will be presenting on its streaming platform over the next week. First up is a performance of Donizetti’s “L’elisir d’amore” from 2016 which will showcase Valentina Naforniţă, Stephen Costello, Marco Caria, and Erwin Schrott. Marco Armiliato conducts a production by Otto Schenk. Streaming date: {…}
(Credit: Royal Opera House official website) The Royal Opera House has announced multiple cast changes for its upcoming productions of Puccini’s “Tosca,” Wagner’s “Lohengrin,” and Donizetti’s “Don Pasquale.” Per an official press release, Oksana Lyniv will conduct the full run of Tosca in 2021, replacing Francesco Ivan Ciampa who was due to conduct the performances on Dec. 11, 14 & {…}
(Credit: Wiener Staatsoper official website) The Wiener Staatsoper has announced the slate of operas that it will be presenting on its streaming platform over the next week. Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin” from 2020 kicks off the slate. The opera spotlights Helene Schneiderman, Nicole Car, Anna Goryachova, Larissa Diadkova, Andrè Schuen, Bogdan Volkov, Dimitry Ivashchenko, Dan Paul Dumitrescu, Mykola Erdyk, and Johanna {…}
(Credit: Chorégies d’Orange official website) Les Chorégies d’Orange Festival has announced its 2022 slate, featuring two operas and international stars. For the purpose of this article we will focus on vocal performances only. Donizetti’s “L’elisir d’amore” spotlights René Barbera as Nemorino, Andrzej Filończyk as Belcore, Erwin Schrott as Dulcamara, Anna Nalbandiants as Giannetta, and Pretty Yende as Adina. Giacomo Sagripanti {…}
(Credit: © Wiener Staatsoper / Michael Pöhn) The Wiener Staatsoper has announced the slate of operas that it will be presenting on its streaming platform over the next week. Wagner’s “Der Ring des Nibelungen” from 2016 will be streamed initially. Adam Fischer conducts a production by Sven-Eric Bechtolf. First up is “Das Rheingold” with Tomasz Konieczny, Norbert Ernst, Michaela Schuster, {…}