Teatro La Fenice certainly plays its part in making “La Traviata” the most oft-performed opera in the world. This season alone it will present 35 performances, with another 25 scheduled for next year. As in many houses, therefore, Verdi’s much loved opera forms part of the company’s staple repertoire. Obviously, an orchestra’s familiarity with a work may act as either {…}
The Pacific Opera Project is set to join forces with The Occidental College Glee Club for its upcoming production of Verdi’s Lla Traviata.” The two will collaborate on two performances scheduled for Oct. 27 and 28, 2018 at Occidental College’s Thorne Hall; the two organizations last worked together in 2016 for “The Rake’s Progress,” which was largely deemed a success. The upcoming {…}
Verdi’s “La Traviata” is the third entry in the Vienna State Opera’s live streaming series for its 2018-19 season. The Sunday performance on Sept. 23, 2018, will be led by conductor Evelino Pidò and will feature Albina Shagimuratova, Pavol Breslik, and Simon Keenlyside. This is the final performance of the Verdi masterpiece with this cast. However, a new trio will {…}
Romanian soprano Angela Gheorghiu has cemented her legacy as one of the finest divas of the late 20th and early 21st century. Born on Sept. 7, 1965, she was an opera star very early on. She made her international debut in 1990 as Mimì in “La Bohème” at the Cluj-Napoca Romanian National Opera. Two years later she made her international debut at {…}
Licia Albanese was one of the most influential sopranos of the 1900s. Born on July 22, 1909, in a quarter of Bari Italy, she would make her professional debut sometime in the mid-1930s (there has always been some controversy on when her true professional debut came about). But she did make her official La Scala debut in 1935 (she made {…}
“Opera Meets Film” is a feature dedicated to exploring the way that opera has been employed in cinema. We will select a section or a film in its entirety, highlighting the impact that utilizing the operatic form or sections from an opera can alter our perception of a film that we are viewing. This week’s installment will look at “Marguerite.” {…}
“Opera Meets Film” is a feature dedicated to exploring the way that opera has been employed in cinema. We will select a section or a film in its entirety, highlighting the impact that utilizing the operatic form or sections from an opera can alter our perception of a film that we are viewing. This week’s installment is the Oscar–winning “La {…}
Anna Moffo, born on June 27, 1932, enjoyed one of the most varied opera careers in history. The American-born soprano studied in Italy on a Fulbright Scholarship and would immediately become a TV sensation in her 20s when she appeared on RAI as Cio-Cio San in “Madama Butterfly.” That was followed by more TV productions in “Falstaff” and “La Sonnambula.” {…}
Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers out there. Opera is rife with fathers, many of whom are some of the greatest characters in the artform. But which of opera’s famous father’s is most closely related to your own father. Take this quiz, tell us about your father and find out which opera dad best resembles him! As always, have {…}
The Deutsche Oper Berlin has long been a mecca for iconoclast regie theater directors ranging from Hans Neuenfels and Claus Guth to Ole Anders Tandberg, whose recent staging of “Carmen” had more viscera on the stage than verismo. Curiously, the extant production of “La Traviata” by the former Deutsche Oper Intendant Götz Friedrich, dating back to 1999, is surprisingly uncontroversial. In his {…}
This review is for the performance on Saturday, May 26, 2018. Within the intimate space of the Riverside Theatre, Amore Opera’s production of “La Traviata” brought to the surface comedic moments hidden within Francesco Maria Piave’s libretto. While this work is not one I normally would expect humor from, this approach added to the emotional investment in the audience, as {…}