(Credit: © École Normale de Musique) French soprano Edith Selig has died at the age of 91. Selig graduated from Conservatoire de Strasbourg and Conservatoire national Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris. She specialized in performing the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and French composers. The soprano left numerous recordings of several works including the Bach cantatas with {…}
(Credit: Esmeralda Martin) The Teatro Español has announced that it will present the European premiere of Campbell, Reed, and Kaminsky’s “As One” on September 24, 2020 in a co-production with the Teatro Arriaga. The opera will spotlight mezzo-soprano Inés Olabarria-Smith and baritone Enrique Sánchez-Ramos. The Bauhaus String Quartet will accompany the two singers. Carlos Calvo Tapia will conduct the production {…}
(Credit: Roberto Ricci) OperaVision is going to keep the opera going throughout the month of April. The streaming service has announced that it will showcase six Italian operas throughout the month. It all kicks off with La Fenice’s “Alceste” on April 3, 2020. The presentation will be available for repeat viewings for six months thereafter. “Guillaume Tell” will start streaming {…}
Bampton Classical Opera has announced a production of one of Gluck’s rarer works “Paride ed Elena,” set for performance in the summer of 2020. The third of Gluck’s reform operas, this work will feature an English translation by Gilly French, titled “Paris and Helen.” This production follows Bampton’s recent exploration of seldom-staged works by Christoph Willibald Gluck and his student {…}
(Photo Credit: Ken Howard / Met Opera) On October 20, 2019, the Metropolitan Opera premiered this season’s production of Gluck’s “Orfeo ed Euridice.” Mark Morris’ production gave the classic work a staging that, while at times veering towards the abstract, remained consistent to its artistic vision and true to its source material. One detail, downplayed but very present, were the {…}
OperaVision will present the Irish National Opera’s production of “Orfeo ed Euridice” on April 12, 2019. The production will feature Sharon Carty, Sarah Power, and Emma Nash under the direction of Emma Martin. Peter Whelan conducts. The stream kicks off at 7 p.m. local time. That’s around 2 p.m. EDT and 11 a.m. PST for the start time. It will {…}
On March 7, 2019, lovers of classical music gathered at the Church of the Intercession for the latest installment of Unison Media’s celebrated series, The Crypt Sessions. These concerts, curated by company president Andrew Ousley, often sell-out in minutes due to not only the limited size of the crypt, but the world-class performers that fill its depth with music. This {…}
Even though the holiday season is at an end, there are some rather exciting recordings heading to the market. Interestingly, both works are by composers of decidedly different eras which makes them a fascinating exercise in stylistic counterpoint for those who might want to pick them both up. Orphée et Euridice Gluck’s famed opera will be released in French with {…}
Few composers in the history of opera were as influential as Christoph Willibald Gluck. Born on July 2, 1714, the composer was one of the major reformers of the artform of his day. He was noted as being critical of opera of his day and how it had strayed from its origins. He sought to bring back the sense of {…}
It has been a particularly heavy season at Opera Theatre of St. Louis, with an absolutely splendid run of Marc Blitzstein’s “Regina” and the emotionally-charged world premiere of Huang Ruo’s “An American Soldier.” It was thus welcome that the final production to debut this season, Gluck’s “Orfeo and Euridice,” provided an uplifting ending. This production by director Ron Daniels, though {…}
It was in 1951 that the Italian director Pier Luigi Pizzi began working in the theatre, and now, incredibly, at the age of 87, and over 65 years later, he is still going strong. Returning to Florence’s Teatro Maggio Musicale for a reprise of a production of Gluck’s “Alceste,” which he originally staged in 2015 at Venice’s La Fenice, Pizzi {…}