Of Rossini’s opera’s “Semiramide,” his final Italian work, is often considered one of his finest. You probably would not draw that conclusion from the performance at the Metropolitan Opera on Monday, Feb. 19, 2018. The opera, which tells the tale of the “battle” for the throne of Babylon in the wake of its fallen monarch Nino, is a rather long {…}
Elizabeth DeShong is one of today’s biggest rising stars singing at some of the world’s greatest stages and performing some of the toughest mezzo roles in the repertoire. And this week, the mezzo takes on her biggest Metropolitan Opera assignment yet as Arsace in Rossini’s “Semiramide.” For years DeShong has been a huge proponent of Rossini’s music, performing it in {…}
At the start of Rossini’s “Semiramide,” Arsace returns to Babylon after a long time away. For years, Elizabeth DeShong has been a fixture at the Metropolitan Opera singing in such operas as “La Rondine,” “Aida,” “The Enchanted Island,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “Madama Butterfly,” and “Lulu.” Then after the 2015-16 season, she did not return until now to take on {…}
Carnegie Hall announced its 2018-19 season featuring some of the world’s greatest singers and musicians. To stick with opera, we will only be highlighting the singers who will be featured in the season. Orchestras Mezzo-soprano Lucile Richardot will be featured with the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique under the direction of Sir John Eliot Gardiner in an all-Berlioz program. The program will feature {…}
Even though the Metropolitan Opera’s 2016-17 season ends in mid-May, the Company is not completely closed for business this summer. In fact, the Met will continue its 2017 Summer Recital Series, now in its ninth year, with six free concerts all across the five boroughs featuring some of the world’s greatest singers. First up are two recitals on June 12 {…}
How did the superstars of the opera world spend the last full week of January? For Aida Garifulina it was a week of major milestones as the soprano not only got to sing alongside Juan Diego Flórez in “Roméo et Juliette” with Plácido Domingo in the pit, but she got to present her first solo album in Vienna. We’re getting {…}
It’s the weekend and that means we are going to take a look at some of the popular posts on social media some of the world’s greatest singers. This week included a number of political posts as well as behind the scenes posts in rehearsals. Enjoy! Olga Peretyatko The Russian Coloratura soprano has been at work preparing the revival of {…}