(Photo: Jann Wilken) Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie is not an opera house, yet it regularly presents high-calibre concert performances of opera and oratorio—projects that inevitably place artistic and operational pressure on the city’s Hamburg State Opera. This Bellini evening continued that pattern. With Ensemble Resonanz returning after their previous notable “Norma,” the hall again became a theatre of the imagination. In its {…}
The International Classical Music Awards has announced the 2025 winners which will be presented at Düsseldorf’s Tonhalle on March 19. For this article, we will only focus on the opera winners. For the complete list of winners click here. The Artist of the Year award was given to Leonardo García Alarcón, while Christoph Ehrenfellner won the composer of the year {…}
Welcome back for this week’s look at the latest CD and DVD releases in the opera world. This week audiences will get a taste of rare works by French and Italian composers. Here is a look at this week’s new releases. Kozłowski Requiem The Singapore Symphony Orchestra and its Music Director Hans Graf present a recording of Józef Kozłowski’s Requiem, {…}
Opera Colorado is set to close its 2021-22 season with Bizet’s “Carmen.” The production will star mezzo-soprano Kate Aldrich in her signature role alongside soprano Susannah Biller as Micaëla, tenor Bruce Sledge as Don José making his role debut, and Grammy Award-winning baritone Nmon Ford as Escamillo, returning to Opera Colorado after our digital program, “The Promise of Living.” Ari {…}
Opera Colorado has announced its 2021-22 season featuring three productions and a number of international stars. Puccini’s “Tosca” opens the season with Melissa Citro, Rafael Davila, and Luis Ledesma. Ari Pelto conducts the masterwork. Performance Dates: Nov. 6-14, 2021 Paul Moravec and Mark Campbell’s “The Shining” will be directed by Eric Simonson. Edward Parks, Kelly Kaduce, Kevin Deas, Vale Rideout, {…}
With the Easter holiday coming at the end of the week, there should be no surprise that there are a lot of Wagnerian offerings in the operatic streaming world. And so Wagner figures prominently on this week’s list. But there’s also a lot more going on that we’re happy to share. So without further ado, here come the top 10 operas {…}
(Credit: Deutsche Oper Berlin / Bettina Stöß) The Deutsche Oper Berlin has announced that it will broadcast the production of Wagner’s rarely performed “Rienzi, der Letzte der Tribunen.” The production of Philipp Stölzl premiered at the Berlin’s largest opera house on January 24, 2010. The cast includes soprano Camilla Nylund as Irene, mezzo-soprano Kate Aldrich in the role of Adriano, {…}
(Credits: Sony Classical / Chris Gloag / Todd Rosenberg / Elena Cherkashyna) Italian television channel Rai5 has announced broadcasts for the week of Feb. 7 – Feb. 13, 2021. The opera broadcasts will be dedicated to composer Gioachino Rossini. The stream on Feb. 7 will be dedicated to the late soprano Mirella Freni. Operas The broadcast of Cilea’s opera “Adriana {…}
On its west facade Rouen Cathedral features a bas-relief of Salome dancing on her hands for the Tetrarch and his guests. In a luring form of “danse macabre,” she thus seals the fate of the Baptist whose execution is shown in the following scene. Flaubert is said to have derived inspiration for his recounting of the Biblical story in the {…}
Opera Colorado has announced its 2020-21 season featuring three productions and a number of international stars. Paul Moravec and Mark Campbell’s “The Shining” opens the season in a production by Eric Simonson. Edward Parks, Kelly Kaduce, Arthur Woodley, Vale Rideout, Joseph Gaines, and Troy Cook lead the cast with Ari Pelto conducting. Performance Dates: Nov. 7-15, 2020 Mascagni’s “Cavalleria Rusticana” {…}
This weekend we look at a number of classic operas in some of the world’s most notable production houses, as well as one of the great festivals in the world. Rusalka – Theater an der Wien, Austria Maria Bengtsson stars in Dvořák’s masterpiece in a new production by Amélie Niermeyer. The soprano starts alongside Ladislav Elgr as the Prince, Günther {…}