This Saturday, the Vienna State Opera brings its season-long live stream series to an end with Verdi’s “Falstaff.” Per the official website, Verdi’s final masterwork will showcase Ambrogio Maestri in his signature role alongside Christopher Maltman as Ford. Among the other major stars of the showcase are Jinxu Xiahou, Olga Bezsmertna, Hila Fahima, and Monika Bohinec. James Conlon conducts Sir {…}
“Opera Meets Film” is a feature dedicated to exploring the way that opera has been employed in cinema. We will select a section or a film in its entirety, highlighting the impact that utilizing the operatic form or sections from an opera can alter our perception of a film that we are viewing. This week’s installment we will take a {…}
Arrigo Boito, born on Feb. 24, 1842, has marked his space in the opera world mainly through his opera “Mefistofele.” He didn’t get a chance to create much other music, his final work, “Nerone,” never coming to full fruition. But he did leave his mark in other major ways. Here is a look at his most famous works, outside of {…}
It all ends with a joke. After decades of dominating the opera world as a foremost melodrammatist, Verdi’s final opera is the complete opposite, a comedy. “Falstaff,” which premiered on Feb. 9, 1893, was written by Arrigo Boito and is nothing like the other works Verdi had ever composed. He openly mocks his other works throughout. He tears down operatic {…}
Tito Gobbi is arguably one of the greatest, if not the greatest baritone of the 20th century. Born on Oct. 24, 1913, his career really took off after the second World War with the singer performing all around the world in a wide range of great Italian repertoire. He not only sang with a gorgeous baritone sound that featured tremendous {…}
Rolando Panerai was one of the great baritones of the mid-1900s. Born on Oct. 17, 1924, the Campi Bisenzio-born singer would add around 150 operas to his repertoire, an obscene number by any standards. As one might expect, he was a massive exponent of the Italian repertoire, particularly in the operas of Verdi where he sang everything from the great {…}
Go big or go home. That’s one theme of Verdi’s “Falstaff,” and it is certainly the big idea behind the Ópera de Colombia’s co-production this week with the Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo. Directed by Alejandro Chacón, celebrating his 25th anniversary since making his directorial debut at the Teatro Colón, and conducted by Chilean maestro Rodolfo Fischer, the production {…}
Ramón Vinay was one of the greatest dramatic tenors of all-time, his dark and potent voice often cited as the shining example of what Verdi’s “Otello” should sound like. In fact, Carlo Bergonzi famously declared that Vinay’s was the only one he found suitable for the role of the tragic Moor. Vinay, born on August 31, 1912, in Chile, actually {…}
Regina Resnik is often cited as one of the great American mezzos of the 20th century. Born on August 30, she managed an international career that spanned a whopping five decades and became a house favorite with such companies as La Scala, the Paris Opera, the Royal Opera, the Vienna State Opera, and of course, the Metropolitan Opera, where she {…}
Happy Mother’s Day to all the great mothers that are reading this article. The greatest of mothers are people that we can always count on when things get tough. When we need a shoulder to cry on, mom is the one who will always offer hers. When we have a small achievement, mom is the one ready to cry with {…}
The Opera Ballet Vlaanderen has officially revealed its schedule for the 2017-18 season. The company kicks things off in Gent and Antwerp on Sept. 15 with a production of “Das Wunder der Heliane” by Korngold. The opera gets four performances at Opera Gent and five at Opera Antwerpen with Alexander Joel conducting a cast that includes Ian Storey as the {…}