This week audiences will get to see two rarely performed works on DVD and a new album of PSALMS. Here is a look: La finta giardiniera Naxos releases Mozart’s early work “La finta giardiniera” from the Teatro alla Scala with a cast that includes Krešimir Špicer, Julie Martin du Theil, Bernard Richter, Anett Fritsch, Giulia Semenzato, Lucia Cirillo, and Mattia {…}
The Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino has announced its 2021-22 season which will include nine operas. First up will be Sven-Eric Bechtolf’s production of “Così fan tutte,” which will be conducted by Zubin Mehta. The opera will star Valentina Nafornita, Vasilisa Berzhanskaya, Matthew Swensen, Mattia Olivieri, Benedetta Torre, and Thomas Hampson. Performance Dates: August 30– Sept. 4, 2021 Next up {…}
The Teatro di San Carlo has announced its 2021 summer season which is set to take place between June 25 and July 17, 2021. The showcases will take place at the Piazza del Plebiscito. “We are proud to announce, thanks to the support of the Campania Region, the second edition of the Regione Lirica festival,” stated Superintendent of the Teatro di San {…}
(Credit: Fabrizio-Sansoni) Glyndebourne has announced a major change for its upcoming production of “Il Turco in Italia.” The Rossini opera will now be conducted by Sesto Quatrini, who will make both his Glyndebourne and UK debuts. The conductor will replace Giancarlo Andretta, who is unable to conduct due to COVID-19 quarantine restrictions relating to international travel to the UK. Quatrini, {…}
(Credit: © Davide Cerati) Conductor Daniele Rustioni will take over the musical direction of Verdi’s “Falstaff” at Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia replacing conductor James Gaffigan. In a statement, the Spanish company noted that Gaffigan was unable to conduct the run due to scheduling issues. The opera was originally scheduled for January 2021 but was postponed due {…}
(Credits: Opera Australia / Dario Acosta / © Sergey Misenko / Lourdes Balduque / Chris Gloag) Italian television channel Rai5 has announced broadcasts for the week of Jan. 25 – Jan. 29, 2021. The broadcasts will be dedicated to opera stagings by Davide Livermore. First up will be a production of Rossini’s “Il barbiere di Siviglia” with Chiara Amarù, Edgardo {…}
Credit: https://www.visitvalencia.com/ The Palau de Les Arts Reina Sofía has announced the cancellation of its whole run of Verdi’s “Falstaff” due to COVID-19 cases in the production team. The opera was scheduled to take place between Jan. 21 and Jan. 31, 2021. The opera house has stated that the detection of positive cases has been possible due to the extensive {…}
The Macerata Opera Festival has announced its 2020 program. This season the festival will showcase three popular operas with renown casts starting on July 17 through August 9, 2020. The festival opens with Puccini’s “Tosca” conducted by Francesco Lanzillotta and directed by Valentina Carrasco. The production will star Rebeka Lokar in the title role, Piero Pretti as Cavaradossi, and Roberto {…}
This week three rarely performed works are set for release with some great performers and rising stars. The week also includes a world premiere recording that should fascinate contemporary opera lovers. La Favorite Donizetti’s increasingly popular French work will get another release from Dynamic. This time the production from the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino stars Celso Albelo, Veronica Simeoni, and Mattia {…}
Apart from the onslaught of syphilis, 1840 was a good year for Gaetano Donizetti. He become the first composer to have three operas (“La Fille du Régiment”, “Lucrezia Borgia,” and “La Favorite”) debut in three different theaters in Paris within a period of less than 12 months. The last of the trifecta was written specifically for Rosine Stolz (née Victoire Noël) {…}