My final day at this year’s Janacek Festival ended with a performance of its awarding-winning production of “Jenufa,” starring Karita Mattila as the Kostelnička, Pavla Vykopalova as Jenufa, Peter Berger as Laca and Richard Samek as Števa, in what was a well sung presentation. The conductor opted for a light reading which brought out the lyricism and folk melodies of {…}
September brings the opening of several major companies in Europe. And that means new streaming opportunities of concerts and operas. Before we kick off our list, don’t forget to check out important discussions taking place regarding issues of race and equality in opera with such programs as Karen Slack’s “KikiKonversations,” Kenneth Overton’s “Black Opera Live,” and Mark S. Doss’ “Heart and Soul” series {…}
This week the 2020-21 season begins in many European theaters. And with the reopening of seasons, many opera companies are adapting to restrictions imposed by health departments and experimenting with the repertoire. The Finnish National Opera is one of the companies that restructured its season and will present the world premiere of “COVID fan tutte” to open the season. The {…}
We are deep into the summer, but opera has not stopped. We are getting live performances throughout Europe and still getting full slates of online opera offerings. So for this week’s recommendations, we are looking at a wide range of options, including a few classic works, a recital from two major opera stars, and a lot of new operas. As {…}
The Metropolitan Opera has announced week 20 of its nightly streams. This coming week’s slate will feature a number of renowned artists including Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo, Natalie Dessay, Ileana Cortrubas, Leona Mitchell, and Christine Goerke among others. Check out the streams on the company’s official website. Here is the full rundown. Monday, July 27 – Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor Starring {…}
The Canadian Opera Company will stream “Hadrian” for one night only on August 10, 2020. Starting at 6:30 p.m. ET, the company will join forces with the Montréal Pride Festival to host a free stream of the opera, accompanied by a watch party event that will feature a live Q & A with composer Rufus Wainwright and librettist Daniel MacIvor. {…}
As Europe shifts into full-on live performance mode, you will notice that many of the streams on offer tend to shift toward U.S.-based companies. Of course, many of those performances on offer are quite exciting and we are going to be continually bringing them the attention they deserve. And speaking of continuing to bring attention to truly deserved streams, we {…}
San Francisco Opera has announced its upcoming program for “Opera is ON.” The company will present Rossini’s “La Cenerentola” in a production by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle. Karine Deshayes stars as Angelina with René Barbera as Ramiro. Christian Van Horn, Zanda Svede, Maria Valdes, and Efraín Solís round out the cast, which is conducted by Jesús López-Cobos. Streaming Date: July 18, 2020 {…}
While theaters are opening, more and more American opera companies are committing to the online presentation. So there is no doubt that there will be plenty of streaming options for the foreseeable future. And we will be here to spotlight 10 operas every week. But as we have done over the past few weeks, do not forget to check out {…}
(Image Provided by Savonlinna Opera Festival) The Savonlinna Opera Festival has announced that it will broadcast Karita Mattila’s recital to homes around the world starting on July 1, 2020. The broadcast will be made in collaboration with Finnish Broadcasting Company Yle. ”I’m really looking forward to singing at the castle and performing with Ville the program we specifically put together {…}
The Savonlinna Opera Festival has announced three performances for this summer. The festival, which has moved its originally planned 2020 edition to 2021, will open its three-concert series with a recital by Karita Mattila. Accompanied by Ville Matvejeffin, the soprano will perform music by Puccini, Dvořák, Brahms, Sibelius, Merikanto, Wagner, Mackeben, Romberg, and Gershwin. Performance Date: July 1, 2020 Aulis {…}