A performance of Verdi’s Requiem is a rather rare event at the Metropolitan Opera. That a run of the famed mass is currently underway with the company comes down to the fact that a proposed production for another opera was canceled. But the timing could not have been better. With the unfortunate passing of baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky, the Met was {…}
With the holidays coming to the fore, the opera schedule is slowly and surely growing thinner and thinner. Companies are starting to take their breaks to recoup for 2018, meaning that offerings are slimmer for operagoers. But there are performances to be thankful for as a number of companies, big and small, are putting on a show. Here are the {…}
The Metropolitan Opera has announced the release of its 50th Anniversary gala on CD. The company announced that it will be a 3-CD set featuring the artists that performed on May 7, 2017, when the Met celebrated its golden anniversary in Lincoln Center. Among the artists that performed multiple arias and were among the most memorable of the evening included Renée {…}
On Friday, Nov. 24, the Metropolitan Opera will present Verdi’s famed Requiem with a star cast that includes Aleksandrs Antonenko, Ekaterina Semenchuk, Krassimira Stoyanova, and Ferruccio Furlanetto, all under the baton of Music director emeritus James Levine. Hearing the mass at the Metropolitan Opera is not a particularly common event and the work itself has not featured prominently in the {…}
The beauty of Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” could render any critique almost unseemly. After all, to hear that seamless music, the moments that turn transcendent — and then to cavil? I’d suggest that even a modest performance, say, even in the dense rainforest (echoing, of course, Werner Herzog’s “Ftizcarraldo”) would still, inevitably, move one. The score simply flows, with audience and performers {…}
Thomas Adès’ “The Exterminating Angel” will get its long-awaited Live in HD performance this Saturday, Nov. 18. This is the third HD transmission of the season and perhaps it is the most intriguing. The opera, making its North American premiere run will be screened to hundreds of countries where the opera has never appeared before. In essence, millions of viewers {…}
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 {…}
American tenor Louis Roney has passed away as of Nov. 5, 2017. After serving five years as a commended gunnery officer for the U.S. Navy in World War II, Roney went on to make his debut at age 27 as Cavaradossi in “Tosca” with the New York Philharmonic. Roney was also among the very first Americans to sing in Italy’s {…}
“The voice must be heard.” For the last two years, this has been the calling card for the Metropolitan Opera’s marketing department, a call to just come and listen to opera as it is intended to be. An invitation to experience something that can’t be experienced anywhere. For many, that tagline has been particularly emblematic of the vocal wizardry that {…}
This Saturday afternoon, Ailyn Pérez becomes just the sixth soprano in Metropolitan Opera history to take on the role of Massenet’s “Thaïs.” The opera doesn’t have a particularly massive history, sung just 73 times with the company in 100 years, the first performance coming all the way back in February 1917. Here is a look at all the other major {…}
Talk about a busy weekend. There will be over 70 opera performances around the country this weekend with a wide range of repertoire. North of the border, Pacific Opera Victoria showcases “Rattenbury” on Friday and Sunday and Opéra de Montreal showcases “La Cenerentola.” Teatro Municipal De Santiago presents “Aida” on Friday and Saturday while Atlanta Opera does a showcase of {…}