(Credit: Chris Singer/Fay Fox/Yan Bleney/Bree Anne Clowdus) The San Francisco Opera has announced its 2021-22 season featuring a variety of classic works and some of the greatest stars in the industry. The season will open with Puccini’s “Tosca“ with Eun Sun Kim conducting an all-star cast that includes soprano Ailyn Pérez as Tosca, tenor Michael Fabiano as Cavaradossi, and bass-baritone Alfred {…}
In the 2018 San Francisco version of Francisca Zambello’s “Siegfried,” we get a touching side of the evolving picture Wagner depicts throughout The Ring cycle. Here is the hero-to-be, Siegfried, son of the coupling of Siegmund and Sieglinde, deep in his forest home, with his parental surrogate, Mime. The encounter we witness at the start is full of baiting and {…}
(Credit: Cory Weaver) From underwater to the wild and terrible world – Rhine Maidens to brother/sister love, father/daughter separation, gain to loss: in other words, “Die Walküre.” And what a “Walküre” it was! Spectacular projections – swirling winds, walloping storm waters, trees bending and swaying every which way, and Siegmund waking to love for Sieglinde, in a house in the {…}
(Credit: Cory Weaver) Some people might be looking for a hero in these days of pandemic, especially locked down at home. Throughout the month of March, San Francisco Opera (SFO) is offering one such hero: the Virtual Ring Festival. You read that right: a “hero” in the form of a quest. It is the quest to retrieve a stolen golden {…}
I’m going to kick off this week’s edition of the top 10 operas to stream by saying that it is probably among the most varied from a repertory standpoint. You have your Verdi, Mozart, Strauss, and Wagner, of course. But then you also have music by African American composers, a baroque opera, a modern operatic classic, and even a recital {…}
(Credit: © dpa/visitBerlin website / Gunnar Geller) The Staatsoper unter der Linden has canceled all performances until the end of January 2021. Among the performances canceled are premieres of Mozart’s “Idomeneo” with Andrew Staples, Lea Desandre and Evelin Novak, and Beethoven’s “Fidelio,” which was supposed to star Simone Schneider, Klaus Florian Vogt, René Pape and Greer Grimsley. Meanwhile, Komische Oper {…}
On November 14, 2020 Minnesota Opera will present Wagner’s “Das Rheingold” in a new, 3D format which will be available to stream online. This digital experience adapts the company’s 2016 production with the help of production company Sweet Sadie. “The sheer size and scope of ‘Das Rheingold’ presents a massive challenge for any opera company,” said President and General Director {…}
With election day in full swing, opera singers have also added their voices advocating for Americans to vote. Many have been vocal about their support for the Democratic candidates, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, including Christine Goerke, Jamie Barton, Lawrence Brownlee, Leonardo Capalbo, Zachary James, Greer Grimsley, Karen Slack, Breanna Sinclaire, Jennifer Rowley, Elizabeth Deshong, and Kenneth Overton, among many {…}
(Credit: Emelie Kroon) When COVID-19 struck a few months back, one of the final “live” performances to take the stage was a rendition of Wagner’s “Die Walküre” in Sweden. Among the performers in that production was dramatic soprano Elisabet Strid, who took on the role of Sieglinde. Strid, who has performed in such opera houses as the Teatro Real, Lyric {…}
The Ópera de Oviedo in Spain has announced its 2020-21 season. The season opens with a double featuring “L’heure espagnole” by Ravel and “Les mamelles de Tirésias” by Francis Poulenc. The double bill showcases Sabina Puértolas, Maite Beaumont, David Menéndez, Régis Mengus, Francisco Vas, and Joel Prieto. Maximiano Valdés conducts the production by Emilio Sagi. Performance Dates: Sept. 6-12, 2020 {…}
(Credit: Cory Weaver / Terrence McCarthy / San Francisco Opera) The San Francisco Opera has announced its upcoming slate of operas on its “Opera is ON” streaming service. First up, the company will present “Salome” in a production starring Nadja Michael, Greer Grimsley, Kim Begley, Irina Mishura, and Garrett Sorenson. Nicola Luisotti conducts the Strauss opera. Streaming Date: June 20, {…}