The Teatro Real de Madrid has rounded out the year with 13 performances of Bellini’s “La Sonnambula,” a title which had not been performed in Madrid for 22 years. What is often considered Bellini’s most balanced composition was presented with a strong double cast of international singers and a new production directed by the Spanish stage director Barbara Lluch. Salem {…}
The Teatro Real de Madrid has announced a cast change for its upcoming “Norma” production. The Spanish theater announced that Maurizio Benini has had to cancel his participation in the production due to personal reasons. As a result, Marco Armiliato will conduct the opera. Armiliato is well known around the world and has conducted at the Metropolitan Opera, Arena di {…}
(Credit: Marty Sohl / Metropolitan Opera) In the current social climate of today, Laurent Pelly’s vision for “Manon,” which premiered at the Met Opera back in 2012, remains as relevant as ever. And with top notch performers in the leading roles, the performance on Sept. 24, 2019, allowed this vision to rise to the top. The Male Gaze Back in {…}
This Saturday, audiences around the world will get a chance to see a rare performance of Rossini’s final Italian opera “Semiramide” in cinemas as part of the company’s famed Live in HD broadcast. The showcase kicks off at 12:25 p.m. EDT and will star Angela Meade in the title role alongside Elizabeth DeShong as Arsace, Ildar Abdrazakov as Assur, and {…}
Of Rossini’s opera’s “Semiramide,” his final Italian work, is often considered one of his finest. You probably would not draw that conclusion from the performance at the Metropolitan Opera on Monday, Feb. 19, 2018. The opera, which tells the tale of the “battle” for the throne of Babylon in the wake of its fallen monarch Nino, is a rather long {…}
This review is for the performance on Feb. 11, 2017. What happens when the Metropolitan Opera casts four superstars into Bellini’s final opera? The answer is golden age singing. For years “I Puritani” has been a vehicle at the Metropolitan Opera to promote the diva and sometimes has made casting uneven with little attention paid to who can sing the incredibly {…}
This review is for the performance on Monday Jan. 10, 2017. Rossini’s “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” is one of the most famous works in the operatic repertoire as well as one of the funniest. It contains some of the most memorable melodies and space for singers to fool around and provide vocal fireworks. In recent years, the Metropolitan Opera has {…}