(Photo: Puccini’s most beloved masterpiece is a feast at any time of the year, but as a Christmas treat, promises to deliver many gifts. Alas, like ALL gifts, some are more desirable than others; some special, some expected and some unwanted. As is the case with this fifth revival of Richard Jones’s classic 2017 production, where some presents are more {…}
(Photo: Annemone Taake) Russian baritone Mikhail Timoshenko began his musical and theatrical training in Mednogorsk, then at the Franz Liszt University in Weimar and the Hans Eisler in Berlin. From 2015 to 2017, he was a member of the Académie de l’Opéra national de Paris. He sang in the world premiere of Joanna Lee’s “Vol Retour” and performed the role of {…}
France’s Opéra de Saint-Étienne has announced its 2023-24 season. Opera Louis Bertin’s “La Esmeralda” will star Christophe Crapez, Arthur Daniel, Renaud Delaigue, Jeanne Mendoche, and Martial Pauliat. Benjamin d’Anfray conducts the production by Jeanne Desoubeaux. Performance Dates: Nov. 7 & 8, 2023 Antonio Corianò, Ernesto Petti, Angélique Boudeville, and Kamelia Kader star in Verdi’s “Il Trovatore” with Giuseppe Grazioli conducting {…}
The Opéra national du Capitole, Toulouse has announced its 2023-24 season featuring seven productions and recitals. Opera Victorien Vanoosten conducts Bizet’s “Les pêcheurs de perles” with Thomas Lebrun Mise directing. The cast includes Anne-Catherine Gillet, Mathias Vidal, Alexandre Duhamel, and Jean-Fernand Setti. Performance Dates: Sept. 26-Oct. 8, 2023 Andris Poga conducts Mussorgsky’s “Boris Godunov” in a production by Olivier Py. The {…}
(Credit: Bayerische Staatsoper official website / Deutsche Oper am Rhein official website / Yan Bleney) Opéra National de Paris has announced an upcoming production of Mozart and Da Ponte’s “Don Giovanni.” The opera opens on Feb. 1, and runs through March 11, 2022, for a total of 13 performances. The famed work will be headlined by Christian Van Horn in {…}
(Credits: Johannes Ifkovits / © anna.s. / Hanna-Elisabeth Müller official website / LA Opera official website) The Staatskapelle Dresden has announced its 2021-22 season. For the purposes of this article we will focus only on vocal performances. Baritone Matthias Goerne presents works by Richard Wagner alongside conductor Manfred Honeck and the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester. Performance date: Aug. 31, 2021 Soprano {…}
(Credits: Merce Rial / Sara Schöngen / Marco Borggreve) The Konzerthaus Berlin has announced that it will reopen its doors for live audiences in June 2021. For the purpose of this article we will focus only on vocal performances. Spanish soprano Núria Rial will perform Joseph Haydn’s “Berenice che fai” and Mahler‘s Symphony No. 4 alongside conductor Iván Fischer. Performance {…}
(Credit: Bayerische Staatsoper) This weekend is all about new productions, role debuts and rarely performed works. Here are seven productions we recommend this weekend. Leonore – Wiener Staatsoper, Austria Tomáš Netopil conducts a new production by Amélie Niermeyer of Beethoven’s only opera. The cast includes Jennifer Davis in her Vienna debut, Katrin Röver, Benjamin Bruns, Falk Struckmann, Thomas Johannes Mayer, {…}
Russian bass-baritone Mikhail Timoshenko has won the Wigmore Hall International Song Competition. The 25-year-old took home first prize at the international competition on Sept. 11, 2019 winning £10,000. The £5,000 second prize place was awarded to 29-year-old British soprano Harriet Burns, while third place, with a prize of £2,500, went to British mezzo-soprano Beth Taylor. British tenor Kieran Carrel took {…}
(Credit: Charles Duprat) Great opera still exists. The kind where we see a strong cast buoyed by a clear staging and even better musical direction. That argument was strongly made and felt on Wednesday, July 10, 2019 at the Palais Garnier with Ivo van Hove’s new production of “Don Giovanni.” The interpretation, which is headed to the Metropolitan Opera in {…}