The Grammy Awards have announced the 2018 nominees selecting a diverse group of operas and performers. In the category of Best Opera Recording the John Adams’ “Doctor Atomic ” recording starring Aubrey Allicock, Julia Bullock, Gerald Finley & Brindley Sherratt and produced by Friedemann Engelbrecht was nominated alongside Mason Bates and Martin Campbell’s “The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs.” The recording {…}
The Teatro Colón has announced its 2019 season featuring eight main stage productions, concert operas, and a number of international star-making debuts. Here is a look at what to expect next season. Mainstage Opera Maurizio Benini conducts a new production of Verdi’s “Rigoletto” directed by Jorge Takla. Fabián Veloz and Leonardo López Linares share the title role while Pavel Valuzhin and {…}
Mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča, who recently opened the Metropolitan Opera’s 2018-19 season with her role in Saint-Saens’ “Samson and Delilah” took to Carnegie Hall with pianist Kevin Murphy for an evening of lieder, songs, and arias close to her heart and on the pulse of her prominent artistic career. Featuring the works of Schumann, Wagner, Ravel, and more, the program of {…}
Elīna Garanča is, for many, THE mezzo-soprano of this generation. With her movie star looks and acting chops to match. she has performed at all the major theaters, showcased an extensive array of repertoire and recorded award-winning albums. She has made a specialty of lyric mezzo roles such as Octavian in “Der Rosenkavalier” or the title role in “Carmen,” but {…}
A few weeks back it was all about Anna Netrebko’s “Aida.” Now this weekend, the Met Opera will continue its Live in HD series with a performance of “Samson et Dalila” on Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018. The broadcast, which kicks off 12:55 p.m. Eastern time, will feature the company’s opening night production, which is set to star Roberto Alagna and {…}
Over the last few weeks, the Metropolitan Opera has hit one home run after another with news of a more accessible schedule structure as well as support for newer operas in new locations over coming seasons. These major stories have emphasized a new era, so to speak, for the company, and the organization has even baptized that progress with a {…}
Camile Saint-Saëns’ “Samson et Dalila” is not among the most popular operas in the standard repertoire. In fact, at the Met, it has been performed a total of 226 times since is Met premiere back on Feb. 8, 1895. And yet the opera has garnered three opening nights to date, a number that will increase by one on Sept. 24, {…}
Elīna Garanča has revealed two new roles she is planning to sing in the next few seasons. In an interview with Platea Magazine, the mezzo noted that she is excited to add the roles of Kundry in “Parsifal” and Amneris in “Aida.” In the interview, she stated that she is learning Amneris and that she has planned to premiere it at the Gran {…}
The Metropolitan Opera’s annual Summer HD Festival is set to return for its tenth time this summer. The series, which will begin on August 25, 2018, through Sept. 3, 2018, will present 10 recent performances from the company’s acclaimed Live in HD series of movie theater transmissions. The series will also present the Marx Brothers’ classic film, “A Night at the Opera,” which will {…}
We go to Mahler for wisdom and depth and to Elina Garanca for beauty and rich interpretation. Both were present Sunday morning at the Wiener Konzerthaus. The Wiener Philharmoniker, conducted by the dynamic Venezuelan conductor, Raphael Payare, book-ended Mahler’s “Funf Lied (Five Ruckert Songs),” plus one song from “Der Knaben Wunderhorn,” with Beethoven’s Leonore Overture and Bartok’s Concerto For Orchestra. {…}
The Orquesta Filarmonica de Gran Canaria has announced its 2018-19 season with Karel Marek Chichon leading as the Artistic Director. The season will include some of the greatest clarinetists, guitarists, violinists, and cellists as well as some of the greatest singers. For this season announcement, we only focus on the vocal highlights. Performances Eve-Maud Hubeaux and Elisandra Melián perform Mahler’s Symphony {…}