Francesco Meli is set to perform at the Teatro Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in a live streamed concert on June 7, 2020. The showcase, which will be streamed in collaboration with Idagio, will feature the tenor with the Maggio Musicale’s chorus and orchestra conducted by Marco Armiliato. There will be no audience in the auditorium. To watch the concert audiences will {…}
The Metropolitan Opera’s At-Home Gala was one of the most hotly anticipated performances of the first half of 2020; one might argue that given its sheer star power, the showcase, which was announced just two weeks ago, was more anticipated than any performance the Met had lined up as part of its regular season. While the Met initially reneged on {…}
Franco Zeffirelli’s production of Puccini’s “La Bohème” is back at the Metropolitan Opera. It’s big, grand and a crowdpleaser thats gets reaction from the audience, particularly at the opening of Acts two and three. It’s well-known for its detailed, classic take on the opera and is the most staged production in the Met’s repertory. Since its premiere in 1981 the {…}
Every year, there are a few events in the New York opera scene that occupy top billing in most people’s minds. Among them might be the Metropolitan Opera’s opening season performance, it’s New Year’s showcase, and some new productions littered here and there. For some, the New York City Opera’s productions also continue to hold value. And then some smaller {…}
It is not too difficult to stage Verdi’s ever-popular tear-jerker “La Traviata.” Francesco Maria Piave’s libretto and stage directions are so detailed any director with access to a few lengths of velvet and some stock chandeliers can create a plausible mis-en-scène to serve Verdi’s marvelous, emotive music. French director Jean-François Sivadier, whose operatic resumé is shorter than a Rossini semiquaver, {…}
PBS will showcase Puccini’s “La Bohème” from the Metropolitan Opera as part of its Great Performances Series on Sunday, May 20, 2018. The broadcast will kick off at 12 p.m. EDT and will showcase soprano Sonya Yoncheva as the tragic Mimì. This was the second of Yoncheva’s big season, during which she appeared on three Live in HD broadcasts. Her {…}
Giordano’s “Andrea Chénier” is in many ways a sibling of Puccini’s “Tosca.” Both were sired by librettist Luigi Illica and both share the staple verismo ingredients of sex, politics, romantic obsession, frustrated baritones, and a grim end for the protagonists. There is also the common factor of youth in all its sanguine exuberance. Cavaradossi and Chénier are idealists with fatal {…}
Puccini’s “La Bohème” made a return to the Metropolitan Opera on Friday, February 16, 2018, with a cast that is slated for an HD performance a week from today. On the evidence of this opening night performance, that transmission the world over should be quite special. Zeffirelli’s production needs no introduction (though if you want some commentary, check out these {…}
The Metropolitan Opera has announced replacements for James Levine for “Luisa Miller” and “Il Trovatore.” Macro Armiliato will lead performances of “Il Trovatore” starring Maria Agresta as Leonora, Yonghoon Lee as Manrico, and Anita Rachvelishvili as Azucena. Quinn Kelsey and Luca Salsi will share the role of Count di Luna, with Štefan Kocán and Kwangchul Youn both singing the role {…}
The Lyric Opera of Chicago opened its season with a fabulous collaboration with the Joffrey Ballet with the French version of “Orphée et Eurydice.” It was a sensational production, although the fact that Gluck’s work doesn’t really feature a great amount of singing perhaps left a void for some hearty Lyric operagoers. Anybody who felt that way certainly had their {…}
Franco Alfano’s “Cyrano de Bergerac” has never truly managed to establish a foothold in the operatic canon. The work only premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in 2005 and Roberto Alagna, the opera’s most dedicated interpreter has stated that he struggled to find a company willing to take a chance on it. Despite its Italian composer, the music works very much {…}