The Vienna State Opera has announced the 2018-19 season, which will feature many of opera’s great stars. There are a ton of ensemble artists that are due for big years, including Olga Bezsmertna who is slated for a whopping nine roles this season. But here is a look at five other artists who are poised to be the must-see performers {…}
The Teatro Real has announced its 2018-19 season, featuring a number of repertory staples and rarities. The season will also include a number of superstars and modern classics. Here is a look at all the vocal highlights in the season. Productions The season opens with Gounod’s “Faust” with two different casts. Piotr Beczala and Ismael Jordi star in the title {…}
This week, three interesting releases will be seen in the market. The first is from a rarely performed Verdi opera, then comes a one-act opera by Puccini, and finally, there will be a CD exploring French baroque opera. Here is a look! Luisa Miller Marina Rebeka continues her Artist in Residence with the Muncher Rundfunkorchester in the title role of {…}
Let the Holiday season begin as many of the world’s festivals begin their Easter celebrations. Here is a breakdown of the performances you should see this weekend. Tosca – Salzburg East Festival, Austria The Easter Festival begins in Salzburg with a new production of “Tosca” starring the extraordinary Anja Harteros alongside Aleksandrs Antonenko and Ludovic Tézier. Christian Thielemann conducts the new {…}
Anna Netrebko has canceled her final performances as Violetta in “La Traviata.” The performances, which were slated for the Opéra de Paris on Feb. 21, 25, and 28, will instead be performed by Marina Rebeka. The soprano had not sung the role for a number of years but had returned to it in 2017-18 at La Scala and was slated {…}
This weekend, the opera season continues in full swing with various new productions continuing runs and some operas hitting the stage for the first time. There are also a number of singers continuing concert and recital tours. Find out what we think you should see this weekend. La Traviata – Opéra de Paris, France Marina Rebeka returns to her signature role {…}
There have been a good number of performances of “The Pearl Fishers,” or “Les Pêcheurs de Perles,” around the country in recent years. Peggy Woolcock’s English National Opera production was seen at the Metropolitan Opera and LA Opera while the late Lee Blakely’s version was in Santa Fe’s 2012 season. The production viewed in probably the most locales is one {…}
It’s a busy weekend in North America with close to 70 performances taking place all over the continent. With so much activity from such major companies, pinning down just a handful to recommend to the operagoer was a rather challenging task. But here is a look at five performances to see this weekend around the States and Canada. As One {…}
This is a review for the Oct. 20 performance. I would like to begin this review at the end, since the final impressions, sensations and overall reaction of the audience is the barometer which measures the overall impact of the performance. In the case of this “Norma,” the final curtain was greeted with a massive explosion of applause in the {…}
A week after superstar tenor Jonas Kaufmann released his latest album, the other major stars of the opera world will unveil their latest recordings. It’s a big week with too many incredible choices. Here we go. Mozart Juan Diego Flórez’s first album fully dedicated to Mozart is conducted by Riccardo Minasi and features music from “Idomeneo,” “Die Zauberflöte,” “Don Giovanni,” {…}
BR Klassik will present Verdi’s “Luisa Miller” starring Marina Rebeka. The concert performance on Sept. 24 will be live streamed and will feature Rebeka in her role debut. The cast will include mezzo soprano Judit Kutasi, tenor Ivan Magrì, baritone George Petean, bass Ante Jerkunica and bass-baritone Marko Mimica. Ivan Repušić will conduct the Münchner Rundfunkorchester. Rebeka is currently the artist in residence with the Münchner Rundfunkorchester and {…}
