On May 4, 2019, George Gagnidze will celebrate his 100th performance in Verdi’s “Rigoletto” at the Metropolitan Opera. Rigoletto has become George Gagnidze’s signature role, having performed it in his career since the very beginning. “Rigoletto has been a key to success right from the beginning of my career and I owe him so much”, says the Georgian baritone. “In {…}
On the evening of April 26, 2019, guests excitedly filed into the Metropolitan Opera’s grand auditorium, eager to experience Verdi’s masterpiece “Rigoletto.” Returning to the stage for its second run of performances this season with a new principal cast, Michael Mayer’s production sets the tragic opera in Las Vegas in the 1960s. With the audience seated and Maestro Nicola Luisotti standing ready {…}
The Deutsche Oper Berlin has announced its 2019-20 season, which will include six new productions and dozens of revivals with some of opera’s greatest stars. New Productions The first new production of the season will be Verdi’s “La Forza del Destino.” The production will be directed by Frank Castorf and will star Russell Thomas and Marcelo Alvarez as Don Alvaro. {…}
Verdi’s “Rigoletto” returns to the Metropolitan Opera on Feb. 12 with a cast that includes a number of major superstars, as well as a major debutante. Here is a look at the cast for the opera. Title Character Roberto Frontali will hit a major Met Opera milestone during the February/March run of performances – he will achieve his 100th Met Opera {…}
It’s the third weekend of the year and we have a number of great productions to recommend. For this weekend, we’re looking at three of Puccini’s most popular operas and two lesser-known classics that are getting new productions. La Bohème – Australian Opera, Australia Joyce El-Khoury takes on the title role of Mimì alongside Ivan Magrì as Rodolfo. Nicholas Milton conducts the production {…}
On Dec. 8, 2018 George Gagnidze will sing his 100th performance at the Metropolitan Opera as Michele in “Il Tabarro” in the centennial production of Puccini’s “Il Trittico.” The Georgian baritone has been a fixture at the Met since his house debut in the title role of Verdi’s “Rigoletto” in 2009. Since then he has returned to the Metropolitan Opera {…}
Even before you stepped into the Metropolitan Opera on Friday, Nov. 23, 2018, you knew who the star of the night was destined to be. The entire marketing campaign run by the Metropolitan Opera in anticipation of “Il Trittico” had seemingly focused on one person and one person only. The company had announced a special ceremony would take place at {…}
Puccini’s “Il Trittico” returns to the Met Opera on Nov. 23, 2018, for seven performances. Despite being one of Puccini’s finest works, it has only been presented with the company on 74 occasions; by the end of this run, it will have 81 performances total. As is always the case with these operas, there are a ton of singers involved {…}
Last year, rising Verdi star Russell Thomas spoke to OperaWire about his strategy for easing into such a titanic role the title role in Verdi’s “Otello.” “I always thought if I would try to take on such a monumental task, the first outing would have to be in concert so I can focus only on the singing and not have to {…}
It’s festival season and that means many stars are heading over to major companies to make role debuts, perform signature roles, or simply make important debuts with companies. Here is a look at what OperaWire recommends for this weekend. Nabucco – State Opera Stara Zagora, Bulgaria Maria Guleghina takes on her signature role of Abigaille alongside Romanian baritone Ionut Pascu and bass Ivailo {…}
This week, Anna Netrebko, Barbara Hannigan, Leonard Bernstein and George Gagnidze release new DVDs and CDs. It will be a chance to see some of your favorite singers and conductors in signature roles as well as rarely performed works. Take a look! “Giovanna d’Arco” Anna Netrebko’s celebrated interpretation of Verdi’s early work comes to DVD. The production, which opened the {…}
