It’s Valentine’s Day, the day to cherish a significant other. Last year we took a cynical look at the holiday, but not this year. Opera is rife with love, almost every single plot in every single work has some communion of two persons in that blissful word. In fact, love in opera has incited just as many battles and tension {…}
The Pittsburgh Opera has announced its 2018-19 season, which, after a season of modern opera, is slated to take a look back at some of the major repertory hits. The season kicks off with Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” which will star Dina Kuznetsova in her company debut. Cody Austin will appear as Pinkerton. Performance Dates: Oct. 6-14, 2018 In November, the {…}
Opera is rife with sweeping love duets. Some are of passionate bliss while others of a more mature variety. As we celebrate Valentine’s Day, we turn to a handful of opera’s greatest declarations of love between two lovers from the classical repertoire. Continue to find out which of the selected love duets suits your romantic evening (and don’t worry, the {…}
Puccini, born on Dec. 22, 1858, has provided the entire world with some of the greatest operas ever conceived by mankind. With his lush melodies that pull on anyone’s heartstrings and his incredible sense of drama, the composer became the Italian heir to Verdi and essentially the end of the formal line of Italian tradition. After Puccini’s death in the {…}
The beauty of Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” could render any critique almost unseemly. After all, to hear that seamless music, the moments that turn transcendent — and then to cavil? I’d suggest that even a modest performance, say, even in the dense rainforest (echoing, of course, Werner Herzog’s “Ftizcarraldo”) would still, inevitably, move one. The score simply flows, with audience and performers {…}
Maria José Siri’s world-renowned interpretation of “Madama Butterfly” will be live-streamed by the Vienna State Opera on Friday, Nov. 24, 2017, as part of its season-long series. Siri will be paired with the likes of mezzo Zoryana Kushpler as Suzuki, tenor Murat Karahan as Pinkerton, and baritone Gabriel Bermudez as Sharpless. The stream kicks off at 7 p.m. local time {…}
Karine Babajanyan is well known for her wide-ranging repertoire in the lirico-spinto fach, performing the works of Verdi and Puccini and many of the Verismo composers. She has particularly become well-known for her interpretations of “Madama Butterfly,” “Tosca,” “Aida,” Amelia in “Un Ballo in Maschera” and has travelled to many of the leading theaters including the Berlin Staatsoper, the Hamburg Staatsoper, {…}
Kristine Opolais, born on Nov. 12, 1979, has built up quite a prominent career all around the entire world. Born in Latvia, she would go on to join the chorus of the Latvian National Opera, then slowly but surely make her way through some of the famed houses in Europe. Along the way, she has developed a wide range of {…}
“Madama Butterfly” is one of the most popular operas in the entire repertoire, which makes it no surprise that the Metropolitan Opera will bring back the work for its 2017-18 season. This year’s run kicks off on Nov. 2, 2017 and will be showcased six times in the fall before returning on Feb. 22 for another six performances. In the {…}
Over the past year, María José Siri’s career has skyrocketed from opening the Teatro alla Scala in a new production of “Madama Butterfly” to premiering a new production of “Manon Lescaut” at the Teatro Regio di Torino. This past month she was also called to make another high-profile opening at the Vienna State Opera in “Il Trovatore.” Since then she {…}
Andrea Bocelli, born on Sept. 22, 1958, is one of the most famous tenors in the world, his fan base rivaling and quite possibly surpassing that of some of opera’s greatest artists. To put it succinctly, he has known how to balance the fine line between classical and popular music. Because of Bocelli’s blindness, a challenge that he has had {…}