It was close to 9 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018. Heldentenor Clay Hilley had already conquered the rage of the ocean, immersed himself in the diary of one who vanished, become one with the earth. He had even forged Siegfried’s legendary sword Nothung. And yet his most challenging role of the evening was right in front him. After some {…}
Fyodor Dostoyevsky, born on Nov. 11, 1821, is one of the most influential writers of all time. His works, most famously “Crime and Punishment” and “The Brothers Karamazov,” are best known for their psychological depth and some have gone so far as to call him one of the greatest psychologists of world literature. An ardent Christian, his works have been {…}
Leos Janácek’s famed “Katja Kabanova” hits the internet live from the Vienna State Opera on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017. The performance comes courtesy of the company’s season-long streaming of its performances. The production, which is directed by André Engel and Ruth Orthman will be conducted by Graeme Jenkins and will feature Evelyn Herlitzius in the title role. Additionally, the cast {…}
Conductor Daniele Rustioni is poised to change things up at the Opera de Lyon in coming seasons. The Italian maestro was presented as the newly minted Music Director of the company at a private reception in New York on Thursday at the Bar Boulud on Broadway. Along with him was Lyon Opera’s own General Director Serge Dorny to reveal the {…}
The Manhattan School of Music is set to perform Leoš Janáček’s “Adventures of Vixen Sharp-Ears.” The opera is inspired by a comic strip called “Sharp-ears” that ran in a Prague daily newspaper. Janáček decided to adapt the strip, about a vixen and her adventures in the forest, into the libretto for this opera. In doing so, he transformed the originally comedic source {…}
Violetta, the heroine of Verdi’s “La Traviata,” is one of the iconic roles of the operatic repertoire, the measuring stick by which almost all sopranos are judged. Singing the role for many is an indication for them that they have “arrived” in the opera world. It is so imbued with depth and intensity that years and years of performance reveal {…}