Holiday shopping hasn’t started but there are a number of DVD selections to choose from. This week Diana Damrau has two DVDs while such stars Philippe Jaroussky and Anja Hateros are featured on new releases. Find out what you can buy this week. Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro” The first big release of the week stars Diana Damrau in her {…}
Opera season continues in full circle with many of the leading companies bringing some of the top stars and showcasing favorite works. Australia Anna Netrebko and Yusif Eyvazov continue their tour in Australia, performing in Auckland. Austria The Vienna State Opera kicks off its weekend with “The Gambler” starring Dmitry Ulyanov, Elena Guseva, Misha Didyk, Linda Watson, Thomas Ebenstein, Elena Maximova, {…}
It’s another weekend filled with some of the greatest stars and some popular titles. Austria The Vienna State Opera kicks off its weekend with “Don Giovanni” starring Adam Plachetka, Irina Lungu, Benjamin Bruns, Dorothea Röschmann and Robert Gleadow and will be followed by “The Gambler” with Dmitry Ulyanov, Elena Guseva, Misha Didyk, Linda Watson, Thomas Ebenstein, Elena Maximova, and Morten Frank Larsen. {…}
The hotly anticipated production of Verdi’s five-act grand opera “Don Carlos” opened at the Opéra National de Paris on 10 October to a mixed reception. The outstanding cast comprised of German tenor Jonas Kaufmann in the title role, French baritone Ludovic Tézier as Rodrigo, Marquis of Posa, Russian basses Ildar Abdrazakov and Dmitry Belosselskiy as Philippe II and the Grand {…}
Arguably the event of the fall season (at least we thought so) the Opéra National de Paris’ production of Verdi’s “Don Carlos,” in full five-act splendor is going to turn a ton of heads. The reason? There are seven of them. Let’s look at each of them. First off is Jonas Kaufmann. The star tenor is a must-see anywhere he {…}
Opera fans who won’t be in Paris for OperaWire’s most anticipated production of the fall, “Don Carlos,” will get a chance to see the opera live in cinemas. The Opéra National de Paris is teaming up with Arte, France Musique, FRA Cinema and Telemondis to bring the opera to theaters on Oct. 19. The new production by Krzysztof Warlikowski will star {…}
Can you believe that “L’Opera” is tenor Jonas Kaufmann’s first and only album fully dedicated to French Opera? I had to look at his collection of CDs to make sure that statement wasn’t actually true, but it is. His 2007 album for Decca, “Romantic Arias” is a mix of different music and does include some of the big hits from {…}
Diana Damrau’s “Lucia di Lammermoor” will be released on DVD. The 2016 Royal Opera House production by Katie Mitchell, which was met with mixed reception, is scheduled for release in October according to Amazon. The opera also stars Charles Castronovo as Edgardo, Ludovic Tezier as Enrico and Kwangchul Youn as Raimondo. Daniel Oren conducts this production. When the production first opened critics noted, {…}
The Operalia Competition is just days away and in anticipation of the famed event, we will take a look back down memory lane at the opera singers who became stars after big performances at the competition. For this week’s installment, we will look at the early years of the competition and the 90s. Here are the winners of that decade {…}
Opera fans in Paris will be treated to an operatic extravaganza on Friday, July 14, as part of the celebration of Bastille Day. The performance will feature the Orchestre National de Paris under the direction of Valery Gergiev. The program will feature such artists as Nadine Sierra, Bryan Hymel, Ludovic Tézier, Diana Damrau, Anita Rachvelishvili, among other soloists. The quintet {…}
Ludovic Tézier has canceled the upcoming production of Verdi’s “Otello” at the Royal Opera House. The baritone, who was scheduled to perform the role of Iago in Keith Warner’s production, said, “Due to health reasons, I was unfortunately unable to attend the first week of rehearsals for The Royal Opera’s new production of ‘Otello.’ When it became apparent that I {…}