The flamboyant new production of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni,” a drama giocoso in two acts, was the brilliant ending of the 2016/2017 season of the Opéra de Lausanne. This was a remarkable event for the town, located in the French-speaking part of Switzerland on the picturesque shore of Lake Léman also known as Lake Geneva. Despite being one of the world’s {…}
San Francisco Opera’s “Don Giovanni” brings us bass-baritones with gusto, sopranos with flair, a tenor who pleads his case with feeling, and an opera that never ceases to amaze. Opening SFO’s 2017 summer season, Jacopo Spirei, in his SFO debut, offers us the ever satisfying chestnut in as provocative and seductive a production as the Don himself. Who can {…}
How do you balance a career in opera with a high-profile presence in musicals and cabaret? While crossover is frequent among many artists, it is rare to see a singer split his or her time between opera and musicals. However, that has not been a problem for Polish-Brazilian baritone Paulo Szot, as his work in opera has been met with critical {…}
Buzzing in conversation, an increasingly larger group of people sat around the circular West Side Community Gardens, their proximity one another as close as it was to the numerous flower beds growing around them. A wind octet and string bass were perched on the Northern side of the central circle with conductor Geoffrey McDonald waiting patiently as more and more {…}
Two vastly different CDs come out this week. One comes from a violinist exploring operatic repertoire through diverse arrangements while the other one comes from a legendary singer who is considered the greatest in the history of opera. There is also one Mozart selection that will likely appeal to DVD collectors. Alexandre Da Costa Goes To The Opera The acclaimed {…}
The Mostly Mozart Festival is one of the highlights of the summer in New York City, filled with many selections from the great genius. Of course, there is always a nice selection for opera lovers and this year is no different. There will be two concerts that feature choral music. The first of these is “The Singing Heart” on July {…}
Over the last few weeks, major opera houses around the world have announced their offerings for 2017-18. Now Opera Tampa has now joined the fray, revealing three major works. To kick off their sixth season, Opera Tampa will showcase Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville” on Feb. 2, 2018, with a second performance on Feb. 4, 2018, at the Carol Morsani Hall. {…}
The San Francisco Opera has announced that it will present Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” as part of its Opera at the Ballpark series. The company will simulcast the June 30 performance from the War Memorial Opera House at the AT&T Park which will reach up to 30,000 fellow attendees. Audience members will get to enjoy food while watching the opera and {…}
Opera Orlando is opening its new 2017-2018 season in the park! The company’s first production will open on August 21, 2017, at 2 P.M., featuring Mezzo-soprano Amanda Crider. The next weekend “The Three Baritones,” Nathan Stark, Brain Myer, and Gabriel Pressier, will perform. Finally, Tenor Marco Panuccio will end the summer series for Opera Orlando. All of the concerts will {…}
Most opera singers can’t wait to rush in and sing their dream roles. In fact, in today’s world, with the high demand for singers to mature at an earlier age, a lot of young singers start young and end young, the pressure simply too great to sustain a lasting and healthy career. Iwona Sobotka was privy to this scenario early {…}
Matthew Polenzani loves Mozart’s “Idomeneo.” During a recent interview with OperaWire, the tenor went so far as to call it the composer’s “greatest opera.” That’s right, with output that includes gems such as “Le Nozze di Figaro,” “Don Giovanni,” “Così Fan Tutte” and “Die Zauberflote,” Polenzani, who is among the greatest exponents of these very operas, puts his marker on {…}
