“Every artist needs to go through difficult times. It’s important because it lets us remember who we are and the things we can and cannot do,” soprano Kristine Opolais told OperaWire in a recent interview. Over the past few years, the Latvian artist has found herself questioning her own artistic identity and ending her marriage. She’s struggled with figuring out {…}
Even before you stepped into the Metropolitan Opera on Friday, Nov. 23, 2018, you knew who the star of the night was destined to be. The entire marketing campaign run by the Metropolitan Opera in anticipation of “Il Trittico” had seemingly focused on one person and one person only. The company had announced a special ceremony would take place at {…}
The Metropolitan Opera will hold a special ceremony honoring Plácido Domingo during the Friday, Nov. 23 performance of “Il Trittico.” Domingo is celebrating his 50th Anniversary season with the company and he will be presented with a special honor at some juncture during the performance. The legendary artist is set to perform in the title role of the final opera {…}
Puccini’s “Il Trittico” returns to the Met Opera on Nov. 23, 2018, for seven performances. Despite being one of Puccini’s finest works, it has only been presented with the company on 74 occasions; by the end of this run, it will have 81 performances total. As is always the case with these operas, there are a ton of singers involved {…}
Since Andris Nelsons became the 21st Gewandhauskapellmeister of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig in February 2018, he has started to plan a European tour to represent this great collaboration with the orchestra. This tour features appearances in London, in Frankfurt, Mannheim, and Dortmund in Germany, in Malmo and Stockholm in Sweden, as well as in Nelsons’ homeland, Latvia — in Riga and in {…}
It’s a starry weekend with many of the leading companies already back in season. This week there are a number of classics that will be shown and one major soprano will make an important role debut. Find out what we think you should see this weekend! Die Zauberflöte – La Monnaie, Belgium Romeo Castellucci’s production continues its run with a {…}
The Metropolitan Opera’s annual Summer HD Festival is set to return for its tenth time this summer. The series, which will begin on August 25, 2018, through Sept. 3, 2018, will present 10 recent performances from the company’s acclaimed Live in HD series of movie theater transmissions. The series will also present the Marx Brothers’ classic film, “A Night at the Opera,” which will {…}
Some reading this review — perhaps many — have never been to the Tanglewood Music Festival in Lenox, Massachusetts. Much more than the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Tanglewood is a magical place; so many thrilling, historical performances and moments have taken place here. And I’ve been lucky to attend many of those performances, such as Seiji Ozawa’s {…}
Tenor Jonathan Tetelman will replace Piotr Beczala in “La Bohème” at Tanglewood. Beczala was supposed to take on his signature role alongside soprano Kristine Opolais but opted for performing in “Lohengrin” at the Bayreuth Festival when Roberto Alagna stepped down from the production. Tetelman sang his first performances of Rodolfo in the Puccini masterpiece at the Fujian Grand Theatre in {…}
The Metropolitan Opera has announced its Live in HD Summer Encores series. The Met will rebroadcast four popular operas including Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly,” starring Roberto Alagna and Kristine Opolais from 2016, followed by Verdi’s “Il Trovatore” starring Anna Netrebko, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Dolora Zajick, and Yonghoon Lee from 2015. The series will then feature Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin” with Renée Fleming, Hvorostovsky, {…}
The Royal Opera House Muscat has announced its 2018-19 featuring 40 new programs and a total of 69 performances. The season will include some of the best conductors and singers in the world leading the world’s finest orchestras, the concentration of orchestral talent appearing at ROHM this season is impressive. Here is a look at the operatic and vocal events {…}