(Credit: Svetlana Loboff / Opera National de Paris) On Sept. 14, 2019, the Paris Opera presented “Madama Butterfly” at the Bastille. One of the most beloved and famous operas of all time, it seemed like a very good choice to open a season. But what should have been a wondrous event was derailed by two factors: Robert Wilson’s production and {…}
Opera Australia has announced its 2020 Melbourne program, which will include staged operas, concert performances, and musicals. Operas Graeme Murphy will direct an “innovative and visually stunning” new production of Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly.” It will showcase how “the digital screens can be used to enhance the storytelling and opera experience,” says Artistic Director Lyndon Terracini in the press release. Japanese soprano Hiromi Omura {…}
Opera Saratoga has unveiled its 2020 summer festival programming which will feature three new productions, including a New York Premiere. It all gets started with Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Pirates of Penzance,” which will be conducted by Brian DeMaris in a production by Eve Summer. The work will feature Opera Saratoga Festival Artists. Performance Dates: June 19-July 4, 2020 Next {…}
“Opera Meets Film” is a feature dedicated to exploring the way that opera has been employed in cinema. We will select a section or a film in its entirety, highlighting the impact that utilizing the operatic form or sections from an opera can alter our perception of a film that we are viewing. This week’s installment features “Fatal Attraction.” What {…}
The Central City Opera 2019 Festival is set to open its festival with “Madama Butterfly.” The new production is set to be directed by up-and-coming director, Alison Mortiz, who previously directed the one-act performances of “Gallantry and Cabildo” during the Central City Opera 2017 Festival. The production will star tenor Cody Austin, mezzo-soprano Annie Rosen, baritone Troy Cook, tenor Joseph {…}
Opéra Grand Avignon has announced its 2019-20 season. Opera The opera season will kick off with a new production o Offenbach’s “La Périchole,” directed by Eric Chevalier. Marie Karall stars in the title role, alongside Pierre Derhet as Piquillo, Philippe Ermelier as Viceroy of Peru, Enguerrand de Hys as Don Pedro of Panatellas, and Ugo Rabec as Don Pedro of {…}
In Gilbert and Sullivan’s 1881 operetta “Patience,” the Oscar Wilde parody character Reginald Bunthorne boasts “I do not care for all one sees – that’s Japanese.” At the end of the Victorian era, the Land of the Rising Sun was an object of immense curiosity all over Western Europe and it seemed no occidental nation was immune to the craze {…}
Central City Opera has announced details of its 2019 Festival, which will run from Jul. 6 – Aug. 6, 2019. Performances will be held in the company’s historic 550-seat jewel box theatre. The lineup includes two main stage operas, a double-bill production, and a musical revue. Free pre-performance talks will take place before every main stage opera (except on Jul. 30). {…}
Pacific Opera Project’s “Madama Butterfly,” presented recently in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo, was acclaimed for presenting Puccini’s opera in Japanese and English, the languages the characters would actually have spoken. But one of the other talking points around town was the “last-minute” assumption of the title role by Melbourne-born soprano, Janet Szepei Todd. OperaWire caught up with Janet at Cafe {…}
Twice on Saturday night at the opening of Pacific Opera Project’s “Madam Butterfly” at the Aratani Theatre in LA’s Little Tokyo I thought, “This could be the start of something big.” “Thought One” related to the production; “Thought Two” to a singer. But first, let’s discuss the elephant in the room. Cultural Appropriation? Puccini’s “Madam Butterfly” has excited controversy over {…}
Irish National Opera and RTÉ, in association with the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre and in partnership with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, will launch a new RTÉ Player Exclusive: Irish National Opera’s production of Puccini’s tragic opera “Madama Butterfly.” Opera fans will be able to watch Ben Barnes’ thrilling production exclusively on RTÉ Player via their smartphones, tablets or TVs starting {…}
