Last weekend, I had the opportunity to experience a number of unique performance opportunities outside of the confines of opera’s mecca, Manhattan. After a glorious “La Traviata” at the Glimmerglass Festival, I headed over to Saratoga Springs for a matinee of Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel.” It was remarkable and greatly unexpected. It was set in the stunning Saratoga State Park {…}
Opéra Grand Avignon has announced its 2019-20 season. Opera The opera season will kick off with a new production o Offenbach’s “La Périchole,” directed by Eric Chevalier. Marie Karall stars in the title role, alongside Pierre Derhet as Piquillo, Philippe Ermelier as Viceroy of Peru, Enguerrand de Hys as Don Pedro of Panatellas, and Ugo Rabec as Don Pedro of {…}
The Madison Lyric Stage has announced that its 2019 mainstage season which will include two operas and one musical. For the purposes of this release, we will only concentrate on the two operatic presentations the season will offer. This season the Madison Lyric Stage will continue its partnership with the Deacon John Grave House in the Madison historic district and will {…}
The role of Gretel has always had a special significance for soprano Liv Redpath. When she was in the youth program at The Minnesota Opera, she got the chance to take on the role for the first time in the program’s yearly “Hansel and Gretel” and she immediately knew that opera would be an essential part of her career. These {…}
Pittsburgh Opera will continue its 80th season with Humperdinck’s classic “Hansel & Gretel.“ The opera is set to star Pittsburgh favorite Marianne Cornetti as the witch, as well as Ashley Fabian as Gretel, Corrie Stallings as Hansel and Caitlyn Gotimer as the Dew Fairy/Sandman. Leah Heater will perform the Mother, while Craig Verm will sing the Father. Anthony Walker will conduct the performances, which will be sung in {…}
The San Diego Opera has announced its 2018-19 season, which will feature a number of repertory staples as well as major debuts from international artists. The season opens with Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro,” starting on Oct. 20, 2018. The cast will include John Moore, Nicholas Brownlee, Caitlin Lynch, Sarah Shafer, all in their company debuts. Other cast members will {…}
The Pittsburgh Opera has announced its 2018-19 season, which, after a season of modern opera, is slated to take a look back at some of the major repertory hits. The season kicks off with Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” which will star Dina Kuznetsova in her company debut. Cody Austin will appear as Pinkerton. Performance Dates: Oct. 6-14, 2018 In November, the {…}
The opera season has quieted down around much of the US and Canada, but the city that never sleeps, and other towns, still have a wide range of opera offerings. Not all of them are staged productions as there are two recital offerings worth your time! Wagner Society of New York – Clay Hilley in Recital Up-and-coming tenor Clay Hilley {…}
As 2017 comes to a close, the US opera scene fades out almost completely. Last week we saw only a handful of operas from the Metropolitan Opera featured on the weekend. This weekend is slightly different with two other companies joining the fray. Here are the operas to see this weekend. The Barber of Seville – Eugene Opera, Amore Opera {…}
This review is for the performance on Dec. 22, 2017. We’re going to change things up a bit for this review. I don’t enjoy writing in the first person for this kind of article, but “Hansel and Gretel” is an extremely personal experience for me. It was the first opera I ever saw in my life at the age of {…}
First premiering at the Hoftheater in Weimar on December 23, 1893, “Hansel and Gretel” was a collaboration between composer Engelbert Humperdinck and his sister, librettist Adelheid Wette. Adapting the libretto from the Brothers Grimm version of the fairy tale, the music draws on popular Germanic folk songs and remains a favorite for companies to produce during the Christmas season. Short {…}
