The scene is set: a masked ball, set into the morning audience of King Gustavo III of Sweden – scarlet taffeta capes and gowns, coal-black hats and boots, creme and black masks. Donald Runnicles’, Music Director of the Deutscher Oper Berlin, lifts his baton with the brisk and lively overture to Verdi’s “Un Ballo In Maschera” and the curtain rises. {…}
The Berlin Philharmonic has announced its 2018-19 season, which is set to feature a number of musical events with some of the greatest performers in the world. For this season announcement, we will only focus on the vocal performances scheduled. Here is a look: Tamara Mumford and Gustavo Dudamel join forces for an evening of Bernstein and Shostakovich. Performance Dates: Oct. {…}
The Arena di Verona has announced its casting for the 2018 festival, showcasing some of the biggest stars in the opera world. Here is a breakdown of what stars will grace the stage of the famous arena. Carmen Three mezzos take on the iconic role of “Carmen” including Anna Goryachova and Carmen Topciu. They are joined by four Don José’s including Brian Jagde, {…}
UPDATE: Hampson posted a message on his Facebook account to clarify his health situation. “I regrettably announce that I had to withdraw from last Saturday’s performance in Oviedo. Unfortunately, I had an extremely aggravating flu last week following a truly enjoyable Operetta tour with Piotr and Annette, and needed time to recover. I’ve been looking forward to my debut as Don {…}
On Jan. 22, 2018, the Metropolitan Opera will revive David McVicar’s production of Verdi’s “Il Trovatore.” The production runs until Feb. 15, a total of eight performances. This year’s production is set to offer up quite some delights for newcomers to Verdi’s mid-period masterpiece. Here’s a look at some reasons you must see this revival. Rising Stars Take the Lead {…}
After showcasing a wide range of repertoire that will be showcased this fall in the United States, it’s time to look at the European theaters. With hundreds of houses around the world opening at the same time, it was challenging to put together this list. But after looking through several theaters, OperaWire has curated the must-see operas for this fall {…}
“Aida” at the Salzburg Festival has been sold for months with many opera lovers left without tickets. However, this weekend those not at Salzburg or without a ticket are in luck because the performance on August 12, 2017, will be presented by radio and on TV around the world. “Aida” will be recorded by ORF, NHK, ZDF and UNITEL in collaboration {…}
For Luca Salsi, there is no composer better than Verdi. No one. Salsi, the Italian baritone, who is slated to sing the role of Amonasro at the Salzburg Festival starting in early August, has repeatedly professed that no composer in the history of Italian opera was able to fuse music and text with the same level of conviction and depth. {…}
C Major has revealed that it will be recording a performance of “Aida” from this summer’s Salzburg Festival. The company put up the recording information for the production on its website. Why is this important? Because it hints at the possibility of the performance being released on DVD at a later date. And of course, these performances from Salzburg will {…}
The superstar opera couple of Jonas Kaufmann and Anja Harteros reunites for a run of performances of Giordano’s “Andrea Chénier” at the Bayerische Staatsoper starting next Sunday, March 12, 2017. Kaufmann and Harteros have performed a great deal of opera productions together over the past few years in such works as “Lohengrin,” “Il Trovatore,” “Tosca,” “Don Carlo” and “La Forza {…}
Have you ever dreamed of joining Anna Netrebko on stage? The Salzburg Festival could make that a reality as it is currently casting supers for its new production of Verdi’s “Aida.” The festival is looking for athletic men from ages 20 to 60 and is holding auditions on Jan. 12 at 6 pm at the Karl Bohm auditorium. The supers are {…}