It’s a starry weekend with many of the leading companies already back in season. This week there are a number of classics that will be shown and one major soprano will make an important role debut. Find out what we think you should see this weekend! Die Zauberflöte – La Monnaie, Belgium Romeo Castellucci’s production continues its run with a {…}
The season has yet to commence and already the Vienna State Opera has a few major cast changes to announce. Perhaps the biggest of these is the announcement that Evelyn Herlitzius will no longer sing the role of Brünnhilde in the upcoming Ring cycle. She will be replaced by Iréne Theorin. Another high-profile change includes soprano Marina Rebeka, who was {…}
Verdi’s “La Traviata” will be the first opera to live stream from the Vienna State Opera in the month of June as the performance on the first will get a broadcast around the globe. Per the official website, Irina Lungu stars as Violetta with Pavol Breslik as Alfredo and Plácido Domingo as Germont. Marco Armiliato conducts the Jean-Francois Sivadier production. {…}
It is not too difficult to stage Verdi’s ever-popular tear-jerker “La Traviata.” Francesco Maria Piave’s libretto and stage directions are so detailed any director with access to a few lengths of velvet and some stock chandeliers can create a plausible mis-en-scène to serve Verdi’s marvelous, emotive music. French director Jean-François Sivadier, whose operatic resumé is shorter than a Rossini semiquaver, {…}
The Opera de Tenerife has announced its 2018-19 season featuring seven operas and a number of international stars. Here is a look! Rossini’s “L’Italiana in Algeri” opens the 2018-19 season in a co-production with the Teatro Comunale di Bologna. Giorgia Guerra directs the production with Nikolas Maximilian Nägele conducting. Performance Dates: Oct. 25-28, 2018 Irina Lungu takes on the title role in {…}
The LA Opera has announced two major cast changes for its upcoming production of Rigoletto, scheduled to open on May 12. Baritone Leo Nucci, who had been scheduled to perform the title role on May 12, 16 and 19, opted out the performances as he is limiting his performances outside Europe. As a result, he will be replaced on those {…}
In this week’s edition of our top five operas to see, we travel all around Europe and to Oman for five operas that are worth seeing with stellar casts. Let’s take a look. “Il Prigioniero” & “Das Gehege” – La Monnaie, Belgium Two rare masterpieces by Luigi Dallapiccola and Rihm will be showcased at the famous Belgium theater starring a Ángeles {…}
Massenet’s “Manon” is known as the pinnacle of the lyric soprano repertoire. It is a massive five-act grand opera that showcases a soprano’s vocal fireworks as well the dramatic potential. And this week, Irina Lungu will take on the role for the first time at the Bilbao Opera. Lungu’s assumption of “Manon” is the culmination of what has been two seasons {…}
The Operalia Competition is just days away and in anticipation of the famed event, we will take a look back down memory lane at the opera singers who became stars after big performances at the competition. For today’s installment, we will look at the major stars to come out of the early 2000s. Here are the winners of that decade {…}
It’s a weekend filled with many stars, premieres and role debuts. And there is something for any opera lover interested in exploring the classic repertoire. Austria “Rigoletto” continues its run at the Vienna State Opera with Yosep Kang, Roberto Frontali, and Aida Garifullina while “Don Pasquale” also gets one presentation with Michele Pertusi, Antonino Siragusa, and Danielle de Niese. The weekend {…}
While the bel canto repertoire is among the most popular in the operatic canon, most people are quick to dismiss the genre’s overall quality, noting that the works themselves are simply a vehicle to show off a singer’s virtuosity. But Irina Lungu could not disagree more. The Russian soprano, who has dedicated the first five months of 2017 to immersing {…}