The Canadian Opera Company is set to present Gounod’s “Faust” at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. The opera, which is set to be presented on Oct. 11, 13, 16, 18, 24, 26, and Nov. 2, 2024, will be directed by Amy Lane, featuring sets and costumes designed by Emma Ryott. The production is a co-production with the {…}
( Photo: © SF/Monika Rittershaus) All sinful things come wrapped in fascinating aesthetics. You know the feeling: something that is extremely beautiful and appealing, but disquieting—too pleasurable to be ethically good. That is Salzburg Festival’s “Don Giovanni”: a spectacular dramatic installation, a grandiose musical project, a lustful conception; yet sinfully wrong. First things first. This is a revival of Romeo {…}
(Photos: Evan Zimmerman / Met Opera) The Metropolitan Opera presented the tenth performance of composer Kevin Puts’s “The Hours,” with libretto by Greg Pierce, on Friday, May 10th 2024. In November 2022, OperaWire reviewed “The Hours” debut with great attention towards how the opera came to the Met, including Kevin Puts’s score, Greg Pierce’s libretto, and the undeniable beauty of the {…}
The Dutch National Opera has announced its 2024-25 season. Opera René Barbera, Roman Burdenko, Aigul Khismatullina, Alexander Köpeczi, and Maya Gour Star in a revival of Verdi’s “Rigoletto.” Yi-Chen Lin conducts. Performance Dates: Sept. 2-29, 2024 Britten’s “Peter Grimes” will get a new production by Barbora Horáková. Lorenzo Viotti conducts a cast that includes Issachah Savage, Johanni van Oostrum, and {…}
The Lyric Opera of Chicago has announced its 2024-25 season. Here is a look at the productions. Verdi’s “Rigoletto” is set to star Igor Golovatenko, Soloman Howard, Javier Camarena, and Mané Galoyan. Enrique Mazzola conducts the production by Director Mary Birnbaum. Performance Dates: Sept. 14-Oct. 6 2024 Elza van den Heever, Russell Thomas, Mika Kares, and Brian Mulligan star in {…}
(Photo: Paola Kudacki / Met Opera) The Metropolitan Opera’s 2023–24 Live in HD season will continue with a live transmission of Bizet’s “Carmen” on Jan. 27, 2024. The transmission will feature English director Carrie Cracknell’s new production and stars mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina and tenor Piotr Beczała. They are joined by a cast that includes soprano Angel Blue and bass-baritone Kyle {…}
(Credit: Paola Kudacki / Met Opera) The Metropolitan Opera is set to celebrate its New Year with a new production of Bizet’s “Carmen” The opera will be directed by English director Carrie Cracknell. Cracknell will explore themes that could not be more relevant today: gendered violence, abusive labor structures, and the desire to break through societal boundaries. The opera will {…}
The Opéra de Paris has announced its 2023-24 Season featuring many new productions and many of the great stars in the world. Alexander Soddy conducts Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” with a cast that includes Peter Mattei, Kyle Ketelsen, Adela Zaharia, Julia Kleiter, Ben Bliss, Cyrille Dubois, John Relyea, Gaëlle Arquez, Tara Erraught, Alex Esposito, Bogdan Talos, Guilhem Worms, Ying Fang, and {…}
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has announced a cast change for its Beethoven “Missa Solemnis.” The orchestra announced that Kyle Ketelsen will replace Ildar Abdrazakov and will join a cast that includes Erin Morley, Alisa Kolosova, and Giovanni Sala. Riccardo Muti conducts. This is the latest cancelation for the Russian bass who recently canceled concerts with the Boston Symphony Orchestra due to {…}
SPOILER & CONTENT WARNING: There will be a lot of spoilers for the plot details of this opera. There are also references to self-harm and suicide. In 2012, Kevin Puts’s “Silent Night” won the Pulitzer Prize for Music. And following that victory, the opera, which premiered in Minnesota in 2011, seemingly toured all over the country getting performances at Arizona {…}
The Canadian Opera Company has announced its July digital streaming. The company will showcase “Bluebeard’s Castle” in Academy Award-nominated director Atom Egoyan’s production at the helm of an ambitious digital reimagining of Bela Bartók’s opera. The production stars American bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen in the title role and Canadian mezzo-soprano and Ensemble Studio graduate Krisztina Szabó as Judith. Streaming Date: Streaming {…}