(Photo: Ken Howard/ Metropolitan Opera) The Metropolitan Opera is set to revive Bartlett Sher’s production of Rossini’s “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” for 12 performances, beginning on April 15, 2025. The opera will first star Isabel Leonard as Rosina, Lawrence Brownlee as Count Almaviva, and Davide Luciano as Figaro. The cast is rounded out by Nicola Alaimo and Alexander Vinogradov. The {…}
(Credit: Sébastien Mathé) Vincenzo Bellini’s last opera, “I Puritani,” premiered in 1835 at the Theatre d’Italie in Paris, in the same year he untimely died at 35. The story is set in England in the 17th century, during the civil war between Cromwell’s republicans (the Puritans of the title) and the Stuarts’ royalists. While the music sets this work as {…}
(Credit: Zakiyah Caldwell Burroughs) Lawrence Brownlee has received the honor of Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters. The tenor posted a statement on social media stating, “Chevalier! ❤️ I am deeply honored to have been awarded the rank of Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters by the Minister of Culture of France! This recognition is a {…}
The Rossini Opera Festival has announced its 2025 season. The 46th edition of the event will take place from August 10 to 22, 2025. Operas The festival will open with a new production of “Zelmira,” conducted by Giacomo Sagripanti. The production will be directed by Spanish director Calixto Bieito, making his debut in Pesaro. Pretty Yende stars in the title {…}
With Bellini’s “I Puritani” one steps into the heartland of Italian bel canto: The ensembles are mesmerizingly beautiful, the vocal lines infinitely refined, and the orchestration – with its mood painting role – proves a proto-dramatic foundation to the unfolding of the Romantic intrigue, prone to inspiring the operatic vocabulary of subsequent generations, and of Verdi in particular. Needless to {…}
(Photo: Elisa Haberer / Opéra national de Paris) I sensed two ghosts on the stage of Opéra Bastille last night. Don’t worry—they were as nice as ghosts can be. In fact, they were so congenial that they enhanced the operatic experience, turning what would have been a merely jolly evening into a thought-provoking one. The problem is, no matter how {…}
(Credit: Elisa Haberer/ONP) On Nov. 6, 2024, Opera de Paris Play is set to present Donizetti’s “La Fille du Régiment.” The production will be streamed in Laurent Pelly’s legendary production. It sets the comedy during the 1914 war rather than the Napoleonic Wars and modernizes the piece without sacrificing a single ounce of its brio. Julie Fuchs leads the cast in {…}
Welcome back for this week’s look at the latest CD and DVD releases in the opera world. This week audiences will get a chance to listen to rarely performed works from some of the great operatic composers in the world. There are also many world premiere recordings as well. Lucie di Lammermoor Dynamic releases Donizetti’s French version of “Lucie de {…}
(Photo credit: Nile Scott Studios) What can one expect from an opera that the one and only Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed when he was a mere fourteen years young? It is impressive considering the age of its composer and disappointing if we bear in mind what came next—like listening to Wagner’s “Die Feen,” Verdi’s “I Due Foscari” or even Puccini’s {…}
(Photo credit: NEC) The New England Conservatory (NEC) has announced its 2024 fall season. The campus-wide festival celebrates American modernism. This article only features classical vocal works. Tenor Lawrence Brownlee conducts a masterclass with NEC students. Performance Date: September 12, 2024 Shiyu Zhuo presents a program of Copland, Poulenc, Lingbo Ma, Mozart, and Richard Strauss, assisted by pianist Tanya Blaich. {…}
Boston Lyric Opera is set to open its new season with Mozart’s “Mitridate, Re di Ponto,” an early opera seria triumph. The work, which will be presented between Sept. 13 and 15 at the Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre, will showcase Lawrence Brownlee in the title role. The production will also include soprano Brenda Rae in the role of Mitridate’s fiancée {…}