Welcome back for this week’s look at the latest CD and DVD releases in the opera world. This week audiences will get a chance to listen to rarely performed works from some of the great operatic composers in the world. There are also many world premiere recordings as well. Lucie di Lammermoor Dynamic releases Donizetti’s French version of “Lucie de {…}
(Credits: Hermann und Clärchen Baus) Giacomo Puccini’s “Tosca,” adapted from a play by Victorien Sardou, was famously criticized by American musicologist Joseph Kerman, who dismissed it as a “shabby little shocker” and predicted its swift decline from the operatic canon. Despite this, “Tosca” endures as a favorite among audiences, thanks to Puccini’s brilliant music and masterful orchestration that elevate it {…}
The Bayerische Staatsoper has named baritone Gerald Finley Kammersänger. He was honored on July 20, 2024, following a performance of “Parsifal.” In a statement the company said, “We are proud and happy that Gerald Finley has been closely associated with the Bayerische Staatsoper for many years. Since his house debut in 2011 at the Munich Opera Festival with the title {…}
(Photo credit: Clive Barda) It’s curtain down, the opera has just ended and the cast are – dressed in 18th century attire – each taking their turns to bow to the applause, to the sound of “Così’s” ouverture. Confused? Well, that was just the start to an evening that was as whacky as it was amusing, if not also a {…}
A truly packed house, a cast of operatic luminaries and a program of works chosen and compiled by Maestro Pappano himself; a Gala, fit for a KING, surely? Which is just as well because His Royal Highness King Charles III was in the audience as a truly surprise guest of honor, courtesy of a massive covert security operation that even {…}
It has been 23 years since Daniel Barenboim offered three performances of Wagner’s comedy at Teatro Real. It was the first Laurent Pelly Wagner production, and therefore the expectations were high. And the result did not disappoint an enthusiastic audience which gave strong ovations at the curtain call. Pelly is a master in “comedy” and he recognizes that he doesn’t {…}
The Staatsoper Unter den Linden has announced its 2024-25 season. Premieres Luca Salsi and Anna Netrebko team up for Verdi’s “Nabucco.” Ivan Magrì, Marina Prudenskaya, and René Pape join them. Anastasia Bartoli also performs. Bertrand de Billy conducts the new production by Emma Dante. Performance Dates: Oct. 2-26, 2024 Gounod’s “Roméo et Juliette” receives a new production featuring multiple casts. {…}
(Credit: Fabrizio Sansoni) OperaVision has revealed its upcoming slate for late April and May 2024. First up is Garsington Opera’s “Ariadne auf Naxos” from June 18, 2023. The opera stars Natalya Romaniw, Young Woo Kim, Jennifer France, and Polly Leech. Streaming Dates: April 26 – Oct. 26, 2025 Next up is Lviv National Opera’s “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors” from Mach 7, {…}
The Bayerische Staatsoper has announced its 2024-25 season. Premieres Tobias Krazter directs a new production of Wagner’s “Das Rheingold” with Nicholas Brownlee, Milan Siljanov, Sean Panikkar, Markus Brück, Matthias Klink, Matthew Rose, Timo Riihonen, Ekaterina Gubanova, Mirjam Mesak, and Wiebke Lehmkuhl. Vladimir Jurowski conducts. Performance Dates: Oct. 27, 2024-July 31, 2025 Damiano Michieletto directs Donizetti’s “La Fille du Régiment” with {…}
(Photo: © Ruth Walz) A couple of weeks ago, I had a lovely conversation with one of the dramaturgists of Salzburg Festival’s production of Verdi’s “Falstaff.” He pinpointed how strange it is for a dramaturg to hear that the staging for this production did not work, but the music did. To him, music and theater are part of the same {…}
Against the Grain Theatre and the Canadian Opera Company led the Dora Award’s Opera Division. The Canadian Opera Company’s production of “Macbeth” took home Outstanding Musical Direction for Speranza Scappucci, as well as Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble for its Chorus. The company also won Outstanding Achievement in Design for David Finn’s lighting in the David McVicar production. Meanwhile, Against {…}