Welcome back for this week’s look at the latest CD and DVD releases in the opera world. This week you get albums from two very famous singers, a soundtrack to one of this year’s Oscar contenders, and two complete opera recordings you cannot miss. Maestro Deutsche Grammophon releases the official soundtrack to Bradley Cooper’s new film “Maestro.” The recording features {…}
Musical America has announced the honorees for its 2024 awards. Among the winners this year are Lise Davidsen who was named Artist of the Year and Antonio Pappano who was awarded Conductor of the Year. Meanwhile, Kevin Puts was awarded the Composer of the Year and The Crossing was awarded the Ensemble of the Year. Anthony McGill was awarded the {…}
Lise Davidsen is set to release a “Christmas From Norway” via Decca Classics on Nov. 10, 2023. The new album is being described as a “delightful and personally-selected collection” of traditional Norwegian Christmas music and classic festive favorites. For this album, the soprano draws inspiration from the classic albums of iconic predecessors on Decca Classics, such as Kirsten Flagstad and {…}
Finals for singing competitions are an interesting experience to cover. On one hand, everyone on stage is a winner. In the case of the 2023 edition of the Queen Sonja Singing Competition, the six singers who took the stage on August 26 were picked from an overall pool of 521 contestants from around the world; not mention that the competition {…}
Soprano Lise Davidsen is set to give a recital at the Metropolitan Opera on Sept. 14, 2023. The program, which will feature Davidsen alongside pianist James Baillieu, will include music by Strauss, Wagner, Verdi, Grieg, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, and Schubert. The performance kicks off at 8 p.m. local time. Davidsen will be headlining the Met Opera’s 2023-24 season with a production {…}
The Broadstage has announced its 2023-24 season. Here is a rundown of the classical vocal performances. Lise Davidsen makes her company debut in a recital alongside James Baillieu as part of the Celebrity Opera Recital Series. Performance Date: Sept. 17, 2023 The second of three performances in the Celebrity Opera Recital Series will feature Joseph Calleja. Performance Date: Nov. 11, {…}
Opera, especially Grand Opera, has always had a predilection for throwing up stories that test the boundaries of credibility and border on indelicacy, and Verdi operas frequently bask in both. “Don Carlo,” one of Verdi’s later works although arguably written whilst in his prime, is a truly convoluted tale, mostly fictional although involving true historical figures, that involves conflict, war, {…}
Valencia’s Palau de les Arts’ 2023-24 season featuring opera, recitals, concerts, and zarzuela. Opera Dima Orsho and Carla Nahadi Babelegoto star in “Women at Point Zero.” Performance Date: Sept. 15, 2023 James Gaffigan conducts Tchaikovsky’s “The Queen of Spades” in Richard Jones’ production. The cast includes Arsen Soghomonyan, Doris Soffel, Ekaterina Guseva, Elena Maximova, Roman Burdenko, and Nikolay Zemlianskikh. Performance {…}
The Grieghallen in Bergen, Norway may not be a particularly architecturally stunning building, and the 1500-seat hall inside is rather functional. But all of these factors are forgotten once the music starts, and you are immersed in the wonderful acoustics of the hall. This was also the case at the premiere of the 71st Festival with a concert performance of {…}
The Teatro de la Zarzuela has announced its 2023-24 season featuring zarzuela productions, concerts, and recitals. Zarzuela The season opens with “El Caballero del Olmedo” starring Joel Prieto, Cesar Arrieta, Rocio Perez, Alba Chantar, German Olvera, Ramiro Maturana, Nicola Beller Carbone, Berna Perles, Gerado Bullon, and Ruben Amoretti. Guillermo Garcia Calvo conducts the production by Lluis Pasqual’s production. Performance Dates: {…}
The BBC Proms has announced its 2023 season. Here is a look at the vocal performances. Paul Lewis, BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Orchestra, and Dalia Stasevska perform the first night of Proms. Performance Date: July 14, 2023 Early music vocal ensemble Stile Antico explores the many facets of William Byrd. Performance Date: July 15, 2023 Soprano Rainelle {…}