Riccardo Frizza is one of today’s foremost Italian conductors specializing in the Italian repertoire. He has appeared at all the great opera houses in the world and has interpreted many of the great works by Verdi, Donizetti, Rossini, and Bellini. Recently, he was appointed the music director of the Donizetti Opera Festival and for his first assignment, he took on {…}
Earlier this season, Spanish tenor Airam Hernández took on the role of legendary tenor Enrico Caruso in the world premiere of Dutch composer Micha Hamel’s new opera “Caruso a Cuba.” Following his success in Amsterdam, the tenor will make his highly anticipated U.S. debut and role debut with the Dallas Opera as Fenton in Lee Blakely’s production of Verdi’s beloved comedy “Falstaff.” Hernández recently spoke with OperaWire about his {…}
The Teatro Real de Madrid has made a major casting change for its upcoming production of Verdi’s “Falstaff.” Nicola Alaimo, who was originally scheduled to take on the title role of Falstaff, will no longer perform. Per Platea Magazine, the bass-baritone has canceled due to health reasons. In his stead, the company has brought in two singers to share the {…}
Verdi’s final masterpiece “Falstaff” with start streaming from the Garsington Opera on OperaVision starting on March 28, 2019. Henry Waddington leads the cast in the title role while Mary Dunleavy appears as Alice Ford. The remaining cast members include Richard Burkhard, Yvonne Howard, Soraya Mafi, Oliver Johnston, and Victoria Simmonds, among others. Bruno Ravella directs while Richard Farnes conducts the {…}
Quebec-native Marie-Nicole Lemieux, C.M., C.Q., is one of the highest-rated contraltos in the world, performing regularly at Covent Garden, Theater an der Wien, Barcelona’s Liceu, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, and singing alongside such luminaries as Anna Netrebko and Plácido Domingo. Name a world-class orchestra or maestro, and Lemieux has more than likely worked with them at some point in her {…}
Arrigo Boito, born on Feb. 24, 1842, was what one could consider a Renaissance Man of the 19th century. He was a poet, journalist, novelist, librettist, and composer and many of his works in those diverse disciplines remain fixtures of the operatic canon. He initially set out to be a musician, studying at the Milan Conservatory. He then fought in {…}
This review is for the performance on Feb. 22, 2019. The month of February might be the Met’s best in 2018-19. Just a few weeks ago, the company revived Donizetti’s “La Fille du Régiment” and it proved to be one of its great successes of the season. Propped up by star performances and a brilliant production, it has kept audiences {…}
The title character of Verdi’s “Falstaff” is a notoriously challenging role. Not only is there a certain vocal quality required, but a poor actor can sink the entire opera; Falstaff is what makes his own titular opera work in a way quite similar to the eponymous personage of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni.” The Metropolitan Opera is set to revive Verdi’s final {…}
Verdi’s final masterpiece “Falstaff” will be live stream to audiences worldwide from the Vienna State Opera on Jan. 30, 2019. The Italian comedy will feature a production by David McVicar with James Conlon as the musical director. Carlos Alvarez takes on the title role with the likes of Simon Keenlyside, Jinxu Xiahou, Olga Bezsmertna, Hila Fahima, and Monika Bohinec also {…}
Yes, it’s that time of the year where we wax poetic about transformative experiences we have had over the course of the last 300 or so days. Sometimes we curate these experiences as rankings to fuel some individual emotions, and at other moments we simply do what we are doing with this piece – let a few different people chip {…}
Dangerously close to the genre of farce, Verdi’s “Falstaff” almost lifts the burden of tough singing from its players. Centered on a large ensemble cast to which – with the exception of the titular protagonist – the vocal challenges are doled out almost equally, its arias are largely scant. Transferring the setting from 15th-century London to a fanciful, blown-up and {…}