It is Hispanic Heritage month! The Latin American community has, particularly in recent years, been a major boon to the opera world, providing it with great singers and composers, and a number of great operas. As the third part of this weekly series, we will look at some of the most popular male Hispanic singers currently dominating the operatic world. Rolando {…}
Aleksandrs Antonenko has replaced Marcelo Álvarez in the Metropolitan Opera’s October and November performances of Puccini’s “Turandot.” The new was announced via the Metropolitan Opera’s official Twitter account. That is the third major cancellation for the tenor this year, after stepping out of “Andrea Chénier” in Buenos Aires. He also canceled opening night at the Vienna State Opera. He is still {…}
Kristine Opolais’ “Tosca” will be released on DVD. The production, which premiered last April at the Baden Baden Easter Festival, is scheduled for release on Oct. 20. The opera also stars Marcelo Alvarez and Marco Vratogna. Simon Rattle conducted the performance which was met with mixed reviews. When the production opened the Financial Times noted that it was “a bitterly disappointing {…}
The Royal Opera House Muscat has announced its 2017-18 season with a plethora of operas to see. The season opens on Sept. 14 with Verdi’s “Aida” starring Gregory Kunde and Kristin Lewis and conducted by Gianandrea Noseda. Olga Peretyatko and Maxim Mironov then take the stage for Rossini’s “L’Occasione fa il Ladro.” The opera, which open on Oct. 27, 2017, {…}
Something is not right at the Teatro Colón in Argentina. Just two months after the company was struck by high drama revolving around the troubled contract with soprano Angela Gheorghiu, another top singer has walked out on the company. And this time, the blow strikes close to home. Argentine tenor Marcelo Alvarez was expected to sing his signature role “Andrea {…}
On April 17, Puccini’s “Tosca” will be transmitted on Arte.tv. The production from the Baden-Baden Festival will star Kristine Opolais and Marcelo Alvarez in the lead roles while Evgeny Nikitin will star as Scarpia. Sir Simon Rattle conducts the Berlin Philharmonic in Philipp Himmelman’s new production. Opolais is best known for her work in Puccini and is one of the {…}
On April 7, The Baden-Baden Osterfestpiele will open with a new production of Puccini’s “Tosca.” The production will be directed by Philipp Himmelmann, who is best known for his work in Verdi’s “Don Carlo” in Berlin and Puccini’s “Tosca” at the Bregenz festival. Sir Simon Rattle returns to conducting duties after leading Baden-Baden’s production of Puccini’s “Manon Lescaut” in 2014. {…}
On Feb. 27, Verdi’s revised version of “La Forza del Destino” premiered at La Scala in 1869. The version included a number of changes, including a completely different ending and adjustments to a few duets. The result was a shorter opera that was hailed by critics as one of Verdi’s late masterpieces. Throughout history the opera has been a vehicle {…}
Two major cancellations were announced on Monday at the Metropolitan Opera. First it was announced that Diana Damrau would not partake in the second performance of “I Puritani” on Tuesday, Feb. 14 and then it was revealed tenor Marcelo Alvarez would also withhold from performing the performance of “Carmen” on Feb. 15. Pretty Yende, coming off a thrilling running of {…}
Roberto Aronicia will take over the role of Don Jose on Feb. 7 and 11 in Bizet’s “Carmen” at the Metropolitan Opera. The tenor will step in for Marcelo Alvarez who is ill. Aronica becomes the second tenor this season who is filling in for Alvarez. On opening night Rafael Davila made a heroic debut as he stepped in an {…}
The 2017-18 season announcements just keep on coming in. After Washington National Opera, Los Angeles Opera and Festival d’Aix-en-Provence announced their upcoming schedules, the Paris National Opera has finally unveiled its hotly anticipated season. In sum there are a grand total of 21 operas to see, including nine new productions. Opening Night “The Merry Widow” kicks off the proceedings on {…}
