“Il Trovatore” is one of Verdi’s most popular operas and it is said that to do it justice, all you need are the four greatest voices in the world. The opera certainly packs a punch for all four soloists as it requires agility, legato, and expressiveness throughout their respective ranges. Its story is also known for being “incomprehensible” and hard {…}
The Teatro Comunale di Bologna has announced its 2025 season. Opera The season opens with Puccini’s “La Fanciulla del West” with Riccardo Frizza conducting a cast that includes Carmen Giannattasio, Angelo Villari, and Claudio Sgura. Paul Curran directs. Another cast includes Ann Petersen, Amadi Lagha, and Gustavo Castillo. Performance Dates: Jan. 24-30, 2025 Jessica Pratt, Giovanni Sala, Marko Mimica, and Lucas Meachem lead Donizetti’s {…}
(Credit: Maggio Musicale Fiorentino) The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino has announced its 2025 season. Stefano Ranzani conducts a production of Verdi’s “Rigoletto” by Davide Livermore. Celso Albelo, Daniel Luis de Vicente, Leon Kim, Olga Peretyatko, Alessio Cacciamani, and Eleonora Filipponi star. Performance Dates: Feb. 16-23, 2025 Michele Spotti conducts Bellini’s “Norma” in a production by Moshe Leisier and Patrice Caurier. Jessica Pratt, {…}
On July 21, 2024, the Teatro Real de Madrid is set to stream Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” on My Opera Player. The opera will be shown in a production by Damiano Michieletto and conducted by Nicola Luisotti. Ailyn Pérez will star in the title role alongside Charles Castronovo as Pinkerton. Lucas Meachem will sing the role of Sharpless and Nino Surguladze will {…}
Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” is set to return to the silver screen on May 11. The cast will include acclaimed soprano Asmik Grigorian and tenor Jonathan Tetelman as Pinkerton. The cast is rounded out by Elizabeth DeShong and Lucas Meachem as Sharpless. Xian Zhang conducts. Regarding the opera, OperaWire noted, “Grigorian alone was enough cause for debut celebration, and she proved {…}
The Tiroler Festspiele Erl has announced its 2024-25 season. Fall Nikola Hillebrand performs alongside Simply Quartet and Musicbanda Franui. Performance Date: Oct. 4, 2024 Winter J. S. Bach’s “Das Weihnachtsoratorium” will be conducted by Vinzenz Praxmarer and will star Anna El-Kashem, Stefanie Irányi, Martin Mitterrutzner, and Wilhelm Schwinghammer. Performance Date: Dec. 8, 2024 Asher Fisch conducts a new production of Puccini’s “La {…}
The Viennese Opera Ball in New York City is set to return on May 10, 2024, at the Plaza Hotel with several opera stars. This year the event will include American tenor Limmie Pulliam, American baritone and Grammy Award Winner Lucas Meachem, who will perform courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera, American soprano and Grammy Award Winner Leah Crocetto, and opera {…}
Vocal Arts DC has unveiled its 2024-25 season. First up is a recital featuring Lucas Meachem and Irina Meachem as they perform Mahler’s “Kindertotenlieder” and works by William Grant Still, Jake Heggie, and Florence Price. Performance Date: Sept. 12, 2024 Lunga Eric Hallam and Craig terry headline the Gerald Perman Fund for Emerging Artists Debut Recital. Performance Date: Nov. 18, 2024 {…}
The Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona has announced its 2024-25 season. Opera Josep Pons conducts Shostakovich’s “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk” with Alexei Botnarciuc, Daniel Kirch, Sara Jakubiak, Ángeles Blancas, and Pavel Černoch. Àlex Ollé conducts. Performance Date: Sept. 25-Oct. 7, 2024 Maria Agresta and Saioa Hernández star in Verdi’s “La Forza del Destino” with Artur Ruciński, Amartuvshin Enkhbat, Brian {…}
The Dallas Opera has announced that it will be releasing free digital streams of its recent productions over the course of the next six months. First up is “Rigoletto” from 2022, directed by Tomer Zvulun and starring George Gagnidze, Madison Leonard, and René Barbera. Emmanuel Villaume conducts. Streaming Dates: April 1 – May 31, 2024 Then comes “Hansel and Gretel,” also {…}
This week the Dallas Opera is set to world premiere “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.” The opera was originally scheduled for 2020 but was postponed due to COVID-19. For the production, Grammy Award–winning baritone Lucas Meachem will star as journalist Jean-Dominique Bauby who awakes from a coma unable to move or speak. Based on a memoir from 1997, the {…}