The Teatro Regio di Torino is set to present Puccini’s “Le Villi.” The opera will star Roberta Mantegna, Laura Giordano, Martin Muehle, Azer Zada, Simone Piazzola, and Gëzim Myshketa. Riccardo Frizza will conduct the rarely performed piece in a production by Pier Francesco Maestrini. Regarding the work, Frizza said, “In the centenary year of Puccini’s death, being celebrated at opera {…}
Opera Holland Park in the U.K. has announced its 2022 season. The company announced that it will open on May 31, 2022 with new productions of “Eugene Onegin” and “Carmen” before presenting the UK premiere of Mark Adamo’s 1998 opera, “Little Women,” adapted from Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel. The fourth production of the season will be a double bill {…}
(Credit: Fay Fox) The Opéra National Du Rhin in France has announced that soprano Joyce El-Khoury’s recital has been canceled due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns and the current lockdown in France. The recital was set to be held on March 26 and El-Khoury was supposed to present a mix of classic, traditional and Lebanese music. The French government imposed a {…}
On May 31, 1884 Puccini made an unlikely debut at Milan’s Teatro dal Verme. Despite an ad- hoc mounting of “Le Willis,” he gained the acclaim of both the public and critics, forcing the impresario Steffenoni to extend its run to three consecutive nights. “Clamorous success. Eighteen curtain calls. First finale repeated three times. Am happy” we hear the 25-year-old {…}
Giacomo Puccini lived during the age of Verismo, but he couldn’t easily be pinned down to said opera genre. In fact, much like Verdi before him, he was far greater because he defies categorization. Puccini’s works strive for the same exoticism that we find in composers that preceded him and like Verdi’s forays into “Ancient Egypt” or Rossini’s into Algiers {…}
Opera Rara and Warner Classics are ramping up their partnership with a number of upcoming releases to follow up the collaboration on a recent recording of Rossini’s complete “Semiramide.” At a luncheon in New York City, the chief participants in the partnership, including conductor and Opera Rara musical director Sir Mark Elder, talked about the future plans, which included three {…}
Thursday December 22 is the 158th birthday of one of the greatest opera composers of all time – Giacomo Puccini. The Italian composer is best known for his brilliant melodic invention and his operatic output, while relatively small when compared with the likes of Italian predecessors such as Verdi, Rossini or Donizetti, is among the most popular in the entire {…}