The Gran Teatre del Liceu has announced a cast change for its production of “Tosca.” The company noted that Michael Fabiano and Maria Agresta will take over the roles of Cavaradossi and Tosca replacing Roberto Alagna and Aleksandra Kurzak, who have felt unable to play their respective roles in this staging of ‘Tosca’ and have finally decided to retire from {…}
The ABAO Bilbao Opera will conclude its 70th anniversary season with Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly.” The opera, which will be performed on May 21 through 30 at the Euskalduna Bilbao, will star Maria Agresta in the title role in her house debut. The Italian soprano will be joiend by Sergio Escobar as Pinkerton, Carmen Artaza as Suzuki, Damián del Castillo as Sharpless, {…}
The Verbier Festival and Deutsche Grammophon will join forces to produce Verbier Festival Gold, a new label that will release recordings from the major event’s archives. The very first release of the venture will be a 2013 recording of Verdi’s Requiem conducted by Gianandrea Noseda. The Requiem stars Maria Agresta, Daniela Barcellona, Piotr Beczala, and Ildar Abdrazakov, who appear alongside {…}
Jan. 13, 2022, saw the second performance in the Metropolitan Opera’s run of Puccini’s “La Boheme.” As the perennially-beautiful Zeffirelli production continues to delight, the evening’s cast, led by Maestro Carlo Rizzi, succeeded in bringing their passion and vitality to bear before the audience. Outstanding Leads Fresh from his work with the Berlin Staatsoper, Charles Castronovo was in fine form {…}
(Credit: Luigi Caputo) The Salzburg Whitsun Festival has announced its 2022 slate, focusing on the Spanish city of Seville. “There are said to be 153 operas set in and around Seville. It is a city which unites a unique mixture of proud ancient cultures which has generated and inspired incredibly varied music and enchants visitors with its stunningly bright light, {…}
(Photo: L.Romano) On Fridays, Polina Lyapustina delivers a short essay on some of the most essential topics in the industry with the intent of establishing a dialogue about the opera world and its future. This year, Jonas Kaufmann and Maria Agresta open the season at Teatro San Carlo di Napoli with the new stunning production of “Otello,” directed by Mario Martone. {…}
The Teatro Massimo di Palermo has announced its 2022 season featuring opera and concerts. Here is a look at the productions the company will be performing. The season opens with Verdi’s “Les vêpres siciliennes” starring Selene Zanetti, Piero Pretti, Leonardo Caimi, Gezim Mishketa, Luca Tittoto, and Fabrizio Beggi. Omer Meir Wellber conducts the production by Emma Dante. Performance Dates: Jan. 20-26, 2022 {…}
The Teatro Regio di Torino has announced its 2022 season. Grigorij Frid’s “Il diario di Anna Frank” will be performed by Shira Patchornik and conducted by Giulio Laguzzi. Anna Maria Bruzzese directs the production. Performance Dates: Jan. 27 & 28, 2022 Dinara Alieva and Maria Teresa Leva lead Puccini’s “La Bohème” with Valentin Dytiuk and Matteo Lippi as Rodolfo. The cast {…}
On Oct. 10, the Festival Verdi in Parma will celebrate Verdi’s 208th birthday with a long day of events. The festivities will begin with a ceremony honoring the composer at 11:30 a.m. The ceremony will be held at the Piazza della Pace near the composer’s monument. The chrous of the Teatro Regio di Parma will perform “Va’, pensiero.” At 17:00, {…}
On Oct. 2, the Festival Verdi is set to present the Messa da Requiem which will be dedicated to the composer Sylvano Bussotti, who recently died. Daniele Gatti will conduct the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai and the coro del Teatro Regio di Parma. Maria Agresta, Elīna Garanča, and John Relyea will make their Teatro Regio di Parma debuts alongside {…}
The Teatro Regio di Parma has announced that Maria Agresta will sing the Gala Verdiano on Oct. 10, 2021. The gala, which will be performed during the Festival Verdi, was originally set to star Eleonora Buratto. However, due to health reasons, she was forced to cancel all her October dates. In a statement, Buratto said, “With profound disappointment, I am {…}