Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018 was a new beginning for the Metropolitan Opera’s production of “La Fanciulla del West.” While Eva-Maria Westbroek and Zeljko Lucic remained at the center of the drama, a new star would be taking over the mantle of Dick Johnson / Ramirez – tenor Jonas Kaufmann. In many ways, this was THE story of this production and {…}
The Metropolitan Opera has announced that Wolfgang Koch has withdrawn from the fall run of “Tosca.” The company announced that Koch, who was set to debut with the company, had to withdraw due to illness. As a result, Željko Lučić will sing the role of Scarpia on opening night on Oct. 25 and Claudio Sgura will sing the remaining six performances {…}
Yonghoon Lee is set to replace Aleksandrs Antonenko in tonight’s performance of “Aida,” per the Metropolitan Opera’s official Twitter account. “Yonghoon Lee will sing Radamès in tonight’s performance of Verdi’s Aida, replacing Aleksandrs Antonenko, who is ill #CastChange,” stated the tweet. This is Lee’s first performance of the role at the Met and he is set to take over the entire {…}
The Metropolitan Opera will be dedicating the Monday, Oct. 15, 2018 performance of Verdi’s “Aida” to the late soprano Montserrat Caballé. The soprano passed away on Oct. 6, 2018, at the age of 85. “Tonight’s performance of Verdi’s ‘Aida’ will be dedicated to late soprano Montserrat Caballé, who thrilled Met audiences in nearly 100 performances of 15 roles,” says the {…}
This Friday, Oct. 19, the Metropolitan Opera hosts the North American premiere of Nico Muhly and Nicholas Wright’s “Marnie.” This will be the 108th time that the Metropolitan Opera gives the United States premiere of an opera, dating all the way back to 1883 when “La Gioconda” was the first to hold such a stature for the company. Some of {…}
A few weeks back it was all about Anna Netrebko’s “Aida.” Now this weekend, the Met Opera will continue its Live in HD series with a performance of “Samson et Dalila” on Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018. The broadcast, which kicks off 12:55 p.m. Eastern time, will feature the company’s opening night production, which is set to star Roberto Alagna and {…}
Kathleen Turner is set to join the cast of Donizetti’s “La Fille du Régiment” at the Metropolitan Opera. The Metropolitan Opera announced that Turner will perform the non-singing role of the Duchess of Krakenthorp. Turner will perform alongside Pretty Yende in the role of Marie, and Javier Camarena as Tonio. Meanwhile, Stephanie Blythe will play the Marquise of Berkenfield, with Alessandro Cornelio {…}
Irene Dalis is one of those artists that has a strong career, but often flies under the radar during conversations about all-time greats. The mezzo-soprano, born on Oct. 8, 1925, grew up in California. After her studies, she earned a Fulbright scholarship and went to Europe to develop her singing career. Her career took off when she was offered a {…}
Puccini’s “La Fanciulla del West” is among the most underrated works in the entire operatic canon. Despite being one of, if not the absolute best, opera by the legendary composer, it doesn’t get nearly as many performances as some of his more iconic or popular works. One of the major reasons for this is that it is one of his {…}
Tenor Kristian Benedikt made his Metropolitan Opera debut during Monday night’s performance of “Samson et Dalila,” stepping in for an ailing Roberto Alagna in the third act of the opera. Benedikt was previously scheduled to make his debut in the title role of the Saint-Saëns opera during the run in the Spring, but it seemed inevitable that he would step {…}
The Met Opera will kick off its Live in HD series this Saturday, Oct. 6, 2018, with a performance of Verdi’s “Aida.” The broadcast, which kicks off 12:55 p.m. Eastern time, will showcase star soprano Anna Netrebko in the title role; this is just the second production of the famed opera that she takes on. This is the first of {…}