On Feb. 26, the Teatro Carlo ended its run of “Aida” with a sign that music can unite. At the end of the performance, Ukrainian soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska and Russian mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Gubanova hugged in front of the audience as they took their curtain calls. The symbolic gesture was a message of peace, which the two artists wanted to send {…}
(Credit: Bill Cooper) A much-anticipated revival of Verdi’s breakthrough Old Testament drama on the life of Nebuchadnezzar opened before Christmas with its second cast. COVID supervened to scratch performances until January – which in theory would’ve seen Anna Netrebko make her role debut as Abigaille, one frequently thwarted by the pandemic. As it happened, travel restrictions meant an evening senza {…}
(Credit: Benjamin Ealovega) The Teatro San Carlo di Napoli has announced a cast change for its upcoming production of Verdi’s “Aida.” The company noted that Anna Pirozzi will be replaced in the title role by Liudmyla Monastyrska on Feb. 17, 20, 23, and 26, 2022. Monastyrska is a well-known interpreter of Aida who has sung the role at the Metropolitan {…}
(Credit: Julian Hargreaves) The Royal Opera House Covent Garden has announced that superstar soprano Anna Netrebko has withdrawn from the performances of Verdi’s “Nabucco” between Jan. 14 – 23, 2022, due to ongoing travel restrictions across Europe. As a result, Liudmyla Monastyrska will take over the role of Abigaille. Monastyrska joins a cast that includes Alexander Vinogradov as Zaccaria, Vasilisa {…}
(Credit: Sim Canetty-Clarke) The Royal Opera House Covent Garden has been forced to cancel performances of Verdi’s “Nabucco” on Dec. 23 and 28 due to resource challenges caused by the Omicron COVID-19 variant. The two performances were set to star Liudmyla Monastyrska as Abigaille, Alexander Vinogradov as Zaccaria, Vasilisa Berzhanskaya in the role of Fenena, Najmiddin Mavlyanov as Ismaele, Blaise {…}
(© Semperoper Dresden/Matthias Creutziger) The Semperoper Dresden has announced that it will stream the 2016 double-bill production of Mascagni’s “Cavalleria Rusticana” and Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci.” The operas star Maria Agresta, Liudmyla Monastyrska, Annalisa Stroppa, Stefania Toczyska, Tansel Akzeybek, Alessio Arduini, Jonas Kaufmann, Ambrogio Maestri and Dimitri Platanias. Christian Thielemann conducts the Staatskapelle Dresden. This Unitel recording is made available in collaboration {…}
(Credit: Bayerische Staatsoper official website) Bayerische Staatsoper has announced that mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Semenchuk will not perform the role of Lady Macbeth for the performances of Verdi’s “Macbeth” on July 26 & 29, 2021. As a result, Liudmyla Monastyrska will take over the role. The soprano has performed Lady Macbeth at the Royal Opera House to great success and has also {…}
(Credits: Dario Acosta / © Gregor Hohenberg / Sony Classical / Angela Gheorghiu official website / Michael Cooper / Kasskara/DG / Chris Singer) The Royal Opera House Covent Garden has announced full details of its exciting 2021-22 season, which will star some of the world’s greatest performers. The Royal Opera House Live Cinema Season and digital program will be announced {…}
(Credits: Dario Acosta / Opéra National de Paris official website / Fay Fox) The Deutsche Oper Berlin has announced that it will reopen its doors to the audiences in June 2021, after seven month-long hiatus. Per the official press release, the reopening is epidemiologically possible as the seven-day COVID-19 incidence in Berlin has gone below the critical value of 100. {…}
The Met has announced themed lineups for two weeks of its Nightly Met Opera Streams featuring such stars as Nadine Sierra, Anna Netrebko, Mirella Freni, René Pape, Renée Fleming, Joan Sutherland, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, and Diana Damrau. The first week’s theme will be “Unhinged Mad Scenes” while the second will shine a spotlight on “Rare Gems.” Week 62 – Unhinged Mad {…}
The Metropolitan Opera has announced the next month of nightly streams which focus on a number of unique themes including operas in English, holiday works, and even an entire work dedicated to one of the most iconic artists of all time. Week 39– In Plain English Monday, December 7 – Thomas Adès’s The Tempest Starring Audrey Luna, Isabel Leonard, Iestyn Davies, Alek Shrader, {…}
