The line-up for the first-ever Riga Jurmala Music Festival has been announced. The festival will take place in the Latvian cities of Riga and Jurmala this summer in a series of four concert and recital-packed weekends. For the purposes of this article, we will focus primarily on the vocal/opera-related performances. The first weekend of the Festival will kick off at {…}
The Semperoper Dresden has announced its slate for 2019-20, which will include seven new productions to go along with 23 revivals. New Productions Rossini’s “Il Viaggio a Reims” is directed by Laura Scozzi with a cast that includes Elena Gorshunova, Maria Kataeva, Tuuli Takala, Iulia Maria Dan, Taylor Stayton, Edgardo Rocha, Georg Zeppenfeld, Maurizio Muraro, Martin-Jan Nijhof, Christoph Pohl, Tilmann {…}
Opera Naples is set to present a special black-tie-optional evening, including a concert and dinner featuring Joseph Calleja. An Evening with Joseph Calleja will feature the tenor in his Opera Naples debut and maestro Ramón Tebar at the piano. In a press statement, Tebar said, “I met Joseph Calleja five years ago at the Pablo Casals Festival in San Juan, Puerto {…}
The Lyric Opera of Chicago has announced its 2019-20 season featuring 10 productions, including four new productions and the Ring Cycle in its entirety. The season will also include one special concert event and one important recital, among other projects. Here is a look at what audiences should expect. Main Stage The season opens with a revival of Rossini’s “Il {…}
As January continues, many of the opera companies are back in session with a number of revivals and new productions on offer. The focus of this weekend’s major choices will be numerous repertory standards. Arabella – Théâtre des Champs Elysées, France Anja Harteros sings her signature role alongside a cast that includes Kurt Rydl, Doris Soffel, Hanna-Elisabeth Müller, and Michael Volle. {…}
Opera Magazine has revealed a number of role debuts and operas scheduled for upcoming seasons. According to the February 2019 edition, Sir Antonio Pappano will conduct a new production of “Samson et Dalila” at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in 2022. The Magazine also revealed that Rolando Villazón will continue directing opera at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein and next season {…}
The holiday season is upon us and that means many great new offerings are coming out. This week will feature the realse of a solo album debut, a new DVD from the Metropolitan Opera, a lieder album, and a Christmas album. Here are our essential recordings to buy this week. A Te, O Cara Stephen Costello makes his solo album debut with “A {…}
On Friday, Oct. 26, the Metropolitan Opera Guild presented its Annual Luncheon to honor the career of superstar soprano Anna Netrebko. Titled “Amazing Anna” and taking place at Cipriani 42nd Street (and without too many flowers as per the honoree’s request), the event was befitting of the famed diva, proving entertaining and breezing by in a way that these events {…}
Puccini’s “Tosca” received its 966th performance at the Metropolitan Opera on Thursday, Oct. 25. The work featured the second revival of David McVicar’s production from last season, with some unique distinctions. As noted in last year’s review of this production, this version of the work’s success will live or die based on whether the performers bring a strong perspective to {…}
“Tosca” is one of the more popular operas in the entire repertory and this season it will be returning to the Met Opera for a total of 13 performances throughout the months of October, November, March, and April. There are two main casts across the two runs, distinguished by the two leading ladies in the title role. However, the remainder {…}
This weekend will showcase a world premiere, a highly anticipated new production, a classic revival, a visiting opera company and the continuation of Wagner’s tetralogy. Here is a look at what OperaWire recommends this weekend. Berénice – Opéra National de Paris, France Barbara Hannigan creates the role of Berénice in Michale Jarrell’s new work. The work also stars Bo Skovhus, Alastair Miles, and {…}