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 {…}
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, {…}
Tonight l’Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège will showcase a live stream of its performance of “Manon Lescaut.” The live stream will be broadcast via Culture Box. The performance, conducted by Speranza Scappucci will feature soprano Anna Pirozzi in the title role. Tenor Marcello Giordani takes on the role of her doomed lover Des Grieux. The production also features Ionut Pascut as {…}
There are still some companies waiting to announce their 2017-18 season, but one organization is taking a different approach, unveiling its 2019 calendar. It will be interesting to find out what, if any, impact Opera Holland Park’s decision to announce the 2019 season will have, but it is still quite fascinating to see what the company has in store. The {…}
Happy Siblings day for all of you who have the fortune of having loving brothers and sisters. Opera is filled with brother-sister pairings that either work together toward common goals or fight with one another to disastrous effect. Let’s take a look at some of opera’s most famous and unique sibling pairings. The Mozart Sisters Dorabella and Fiordiligi are as {…}
It’s Valentine’s Day, a momentous occasion to celebrate love and romance. Romance is at the heart of opera with the art forms pull coming from our connection with beautiful love affairs. Most everyone melts at Rodolfo and Mimì’s blooming love in “La Bohème” or Alfredo and Violetta’s in “La Traviata.” We admire the sacrifice of Roméo and Juliette or even {…}
What do Renata Tebaldi, Puccini’s “La Bohème” and his “Manon Lescaut” have in common? They were all “born” on the same day – Feb. 1. The great soprano came into the world on Feb. 1, 1922 in Pesaro, Italy, the land of Rossini, but ironically not one of the featured composers in her repertoire. She did sing two of his {…}
London audiences will get reacquainted with soprano Maria Katzarava this January when the Mexican Georgian singer makes appearances at the Wigmore Hall. The soprano will appear on January 10 for the Rosenblatt Recitals at Wigmore Hall, a concert series that showcases some of the greatest opera stars of the moment. She will be joined by tenor Stefano la Colla and {…}
Thursday December 22 is the 158th birthday of one of the greatest opera composers of all time – Giacomo Puccini. The Italian composer is best known for his brilliant melodic invention and his operatic output, while relatively small when compared with the likes of Italian predecessors such as Verdi, Rossini or Donizetti, is among the most popular in the entire {…}
The repertoire for Anna Netrebko and Yusif Eyvazov’s Feb. 27 concert in Paris has been announced with numerous surprises. After performing a number of concerts featuring verismo repertoire, this upcoming concert will feature Verdi in the first half. The soprano will return to arias from “La Traviata” a few days before her farewell performances of the role at the Teatro {…}
The weekend is upon us and opera fans around the United States are likely looking at how to approach the forthcoming days ahead. Because of the holiday season, there are not many options out there as most companies have taken the month off to recoup and prep for January, when most make a return with a big showcase. That said, {…}