After their recent forays into the modern and contemporary repertory, Pentatone’s “Golden Age” indulges instead in an irresistible nostalgia for Met-proven voices: unpretentious yet charmingly picturesque, the album evokes the hedonistic atmosphere of days sadly gone by—when operatic luminaries (think Tucker, or Roberta Peters on the “Ed Sullivan Show”) dazzled with sheer vocal prowess. Show business at its best, then—or {…}
The Bayerische Staatsoper has announced a conductor change for “Don Carlo.” According to Slippedisc, the company said, “It is with great regret that the Bavarian State Opera announces that Zubin Mehta will not be able to conduct Don Carlo in May 2025 due to a necessary break. Zubin Mehta himself deeply regrets the cancellation but is already looking forward to {…}
Puccini’s “Messa di Gloria” is not the unjustly belittled opera in disguise which musicologists, for decades, have made it to be. They objected to the unbefittingly ariose “Gratias agimus,” as well as the mass’ compilatory structure. For a “Mass of Glory,” strictly speaking, only contains the Kyrie and Gloria sections; Puccini, however, adopts all five movements of mass, and {…}
(Photo: ) Giuseppe Verdi’s “I vespri siciliani” recounts the story of a historical revolution: the uprising of the Sicilian people against their French rulers in 1282, leading to the liberation of the island from their occupation. The political narrative is intertwined with the personal lives of the main characters. Duchess Elena, whose brother was killed by the French, seeks vengeance {…}
Opwer Leipzig has named a new Music Director. Repušić is a Croatian conductor who is Chief Conductor of the Munich Radio Orchestra and the first permanent guest conductor of the Deutsche Oper Berlin. He is also the Chief Conductor of the Zadar Chamber Orchestra. He has recorded for BR-Klassik, CPO, and Warner Classics. In a statement via social media, the company said, “Welcome {…}
