It’s Valentine’s Day weekend and there is arguably no art form that captures the essence of love moreso than opera. With that in mind, we looked around and picked operas that probably won’t cater to ideal feelings of love, but are powerful in their own rights and would probably make for unbelievable nights at the opera. Frida – Anchorage Opera, {…}
(Credit: Houston Symphony Orchestra) The Houston Symphony Orchestra has announced its 2020-21 season featuring three vocal performances. Andrés Orozco-Estrada conducts the rarely performed work Schmidt’s “The Book with Seven Seals.” The cast is set to include Christian Elsner, Nicholas Brownlee, Meghan Kasanders, Kelley O’Connor, Maximilian Schmitt and Jan Martiník. The Houston Symphony Chorus is led by Betsy Cook Weber. Performance {…}
Tchaikovsky’s “The Queen of Spades” is set to return to the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Lyric’s principal conductor Sir Andrew Davis returns to the work that inaugurated his first season as Lyric’s music director in 2000, leading Richard Jones’ acclaimed production. The opera is set to star Brandon Jovanovich as Gherman and Sondra Radvanovsky in her role debut as Lisa. {…}
(Credit: Ken Howard/ Metropolitan Opera) Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” is set to return to the Metropolitan Opera with two of the world’s greatest interpreters. Fall Cast The season premiere will open with Hui He in a role she has performed all over the world at such venues as the Arena di Verona, Opernhaus Zurich, Teatro Real de Madrid, the Dallas Opera, {…}
Oper Frankfurt’s new season is massive. It is loaded up with over a dozen new productions and even more revivals. Premieres Damiano Michieletto directs a new production of Rossini’s “Otello” starring Enea Scala in the title role, Karolina Makuła as Desdemona, Theo Lebow as Iago, and Jack Swanson as Rodrigo. Sesto Quatrini conducts. Performance Dates: Sept. 8-Oct. 20, 2019 Asmik Grigorian sings {…}
Audiences who are unable to get to the Opéra National de Paris will still have a chance to check out some of the company’s many productions via cinema. In sum, the company will be showcasing four operas in movie theaters in 2019-20. They will also showcase three other productions from other venues. First up will be Verdi’s “La Traviata” on {…}
At the end of “Semele” the chorus sings “Happy, happy, shall we be.” The text is a perfect sobriquet for anything to do with Harry Bicket and the English Concert. Their forays into the world of baroque music are never less than an exhilarating experience for audiences and artists alike. Meticulous musicianship and a palpable passion for playing make their annual {…}
Even before the curtain rose on this Los Angeles Opera production of Mozart’s “La Clemenza di Tito” which I saw on March 7th, 2019, I was excited by what I had read in the program booklet. LA Opera Music Director James Conlon’s article, “Clemency, Forgiveness and Love” with its emphasis on Titus’s closing message that “I know everything, absolve everyone {…}
“The Gospel according to the other Mary,” is defined by John Adams, and the complier of the libretto, Peter Sellars, as an opera-oratorio, and sitting in the concert hall of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, in Rome, watching a performance of the work, conducted by the composer, it is easy to see why. For this is a work that {…}
North Carolina Opera is set to showcase a special concert performance of Bellini’s “Norma.” For one afternoon only, that of Oct. 21, 2018, the company will perform the famed opera at the Meymandi Concert Hall at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts. The opera will star Leah Crocetto in the iconic title role with Elizabeth DeShong as her {…}
PBS will showcase “Semiramide” from the Metropolitan Opera as part of its Great Performances Series on Sunday, July 8, 2018. The broadcast will kick off at 12 p.m. EDT and will soprano Angela Meade in the title role, tenor Javier Camarena, mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong, and bass Ildar Abdrazakov. Ryan Speedo Green rounds out the star cast. Per OperaWire’s review, DeShong {…}