(Credit: www.glossamusic.com) Italian conductor and countertenor Claudio Cavina has died at the age of 58. In 2016 Cavina suffered a stroke and had struggled with his health ever since. Cavina was one of the most important Italian countertenors of his generation. He began his vocal studies in Bologna, and continued his training at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. He performed globally {…}
(Credit: Theresa Pewal) When audiences check out Monteverdi’s “L’Orfeo” on July 5 and 7, 2019 at the York Early Music Festival and LOS St. Luke’s London, they will see the iconic opera utilizing puppetry and ancient Greek theatrical techniques. Developed under director Thomas Guthrie, with the cooperation of students at Princeton University, these techniques will showcase one of the Guthrie’s {…}
I Fagiolini and Robert Hollingworth are set to work alongside director Thomas Guthrie and designer Ruth Paton to showcase Monteverdi’s “L’Orfeo” at the York Early Music Festival on July 5, 2019 with an additional showcase at LSO St. Luke’s in London on July 7. The production is set to utilize ancient Greek techniques of masks and puppets to tell the {…}
Claudio Monteverdi is by many considered to be the “father of opera.” His greatest works in the genre are among the first to survive, with one of them a major fixture of the standard repertoire. Monteverdi was baptized on May 15, 1567, and developed an extensive career first at the Court of Mantua and then at the Republic of Venice. {…}
Widely considered among the first operas, “L’Orfeo” made its premiere sometime during the 1607 Carnival season in Mantua, Italy. Though it fell out of performance shortly after the death of Monteverdi, it enjoyed a great revival in the 19th century which led to many fully-staged productions later on. The opera draws upon the Renaissance era’s many compositional techniques, melding them {…}
OperaVision will showcase Monteverdi’s “L’Orfeo” live from the New Belgrade Opera on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2018 starting at 7 p.m. local time. The opera stars Nikola Diskić in the title role, Antonia Dunjko as Euridice and Musica, Radoslava Vorgić as Prosperina and Nifa, Dragana Popović as Messaggera and Speranza, Marko Špehar as Plutone and Caronte, as well as Marijana Radosavljević, {…}
This week audiences will get to experience another artist making a crossover album and a new DVD of Monteverdi’s “L’Orfeo.” Check it out. A Crossover Hibla Gerzmava releases a new album that showcases the soprano in opera, jazz and blues. Alongside the trio of Daniel Kramer, Gerzmava performs arias from La Traviata, “Rinaldo” as well as popular songs by Dvorak, {…}
No apologies are made for starting this review of Monteverdi’s “L’Orfeo” with a description of the venue, Vicenza’s Teatro Olimpico, which must count as one of the world’s most beautiful and architectural significant theatres. Designed by Palladio in 1580, it was described by Goethe as “a theatre based on the ancient model, but in small proportions and indescribably beautiful…”. Palladio {…}
“L’Orfeo” debuted in 1607, as Capt. John Smith sailed across the Atlantic to found a settlement in Jamestown, Virginia. It is the oldest opera in the repertoire. So for it to have an American premiere of any sort in 2017 is remarkable. But on Saturday, July 8th, 2017, the Respighi orchestration of Monteverdi’s version of the tale of Orpheus and {…}
Opera North will take over the Latitude Festival from July 13 to 16 with “Underworld,” an audio-visual installation based on Monteverdi’s famed “L’Orfeo” at the Faraway Forest. The installation will feature several recordings from the opera including baritone Simon Keenlyside in the lead role. The recording was originally made for “She, So Beloved,” an installation by cult animators The Brothers Quay, {…}
As part of Claudio Monteverdi’s 450th birthday anniversary, Sir John Eliot Gardiner is going on tour to recognize the father of opera. The tour is slated to last a whopping seven months, taking place around the globe in such countries as the UK, Germany, Poland, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy, Spain and the USA. The tour will essentially feature performances of {…}