(Photo credits: © Harald Hoffmann / Chris Gloag / Gregor Hohenberg / Sony Music Entertainment / Nicole Car official website) The Wiener Staatsoper has announced the next slate of operas that it will be presenting on its streaming platform over the next week. First up is the production of Beethoven‘s “Fidelio” starring Klaus Florian Vogt, Anja Kampe, Evgeny Nikitin, Stephen {…}
The beauty of “Götterdämmerung” is not only that it is the artful conclusion to the massive cycle of thoughts, ideas, story, and feelings that are its previous operas, but that it is its own lift to all that precedes it. Love and lust, jealousy and power, greed and hate, infinity and finitude, community and individualism – all take their place {…}
San Francisco Opera is in the midst of its month-long festival dedicated to Wagner’s “Ring Cycle.” In the coming weeks, Lois Silverstein will explore her experience not only revisiting the 2018 opera production, but several of the events and panels presented by the company. Three Brünnhildes at one go! That’s what the Virtual Ring Festival cooked up before streaming “Siegfried.” And {…}
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 {…}
Even though we are slowly inching back to real-world performances, streaming in the opera world is going as strong as ever. In this week’s edition of the Top 10 you will see your fair share of operatic repertory as well as some unique recital experiences. Atilla – OperaVision (NOW) Operavision will stream a 2011 performance of the early Verdi opera {…}
(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 {…}
Audiences who crave seeing opera’s biggest stars on the small screen will have a lot to enjoy. From a Jonas Kaufmann triumph at the Met to a new role for Marlis Petersen and a video showcase for Kristine Opolais, this week’s selection should certainly fulfill a lot of operatic wishes. But there are also two world premieres – one in {…}
The Bayreuth Festival has announced programming for the 2021 season. The season will open with “Die Fliegende Hollander” with Oksana Lyniv becoming the first woman conductor to lead an opera at the festival. Dmitri Tcherniakov directs the new production, which will star Eric Cutler, Georg Zeppenfeld, Asmik Grigorian, and Marina Prudenskaya. Performance Dates: July 25 – August 20, 2021 The festival {…}
(Credits: Chris Gloag /Emelie Kroon/ Violeta Urmana Facebook page) Teatro Massimo di Palermo has announced that it has canceled the fully staged production of Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannstahl’s opera “Elektra,” which was originally scheduled for performance between Nov. 24 – Dec. 2, 2020, due to COVID-19 safety rules. Instead, the opera house will present a semistaged version of {…}
The Deutsche Oper Berlin has announced two cast changes for its “La Gioconda” concerts. The company announced that George Gagnidze will replace Roman Burdenko as Barnaba and Iréne Theorin will replace Irina Churilova in the title role. Theorin has performed the role of “La Gioconda” at the Gran Teatre del Liceu and is well known for her German repertoire. She has {…}
(Credit: Dusíkovo divadlo official website) Famed Slovakian tenor Štefan Margita and his wife Hanka both tested positive for the novel COVID-19 coronavirus. Margita posted a message on his Facebook profile, stating “Our dear ones, we did not want to burden you with our worries. Yes, we both tested positive for COVID. So you don’t have to learn from the various {…}
