How Teatro Real Madrid’s Production of ‘The Tale of Tsar Saltan’ Transforms Fairy Tale Into Modern Psychological Drama

(Photo Credit: © Forster) The premiere of “The Tale of Tsar Saltan” at the Teatro Real de Madrid became an extraordinary event. Dmitri Tcherniakov offered the audience a new interpretation of the famous opera by Rimsky-Korsakov, transforming it from a fairy-tale into a psychological drama. The director boldly departs from familiar images and, like a surgeon, reveals the hidden meanings {…}

Aug 20, 2023

Salzburg Festival Recital 2023 Review: Asmik Grigorian & Lukas Geniušas

(Photo: © SF/Marco Borrelli) It is always good when a song recital does not include the usual suspects of the Lieder repertoire (you know who they are). This is nothing against “Die schöne Müllerin” or “Dichterliebe.” However, Asmik Grigorian and Lukas Geniušas’s recital was exciting because it featured Rachmaninoff songs, along with some small pieces by Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov for {…}

Apr 1, 2022

English Touring Opera 2021 – 22 Review: The Golden Cockerel

(Photo: Richard Hubert Smith) Rimsky-Korsakov wrote 13 operas, yet outside his native Russia they have struggled to establish themselves, notching up only the occasional performance, with the possible exception of his final opera “The Golden Cockerel,” which has always managed to maintain a presence on the international stage. Based on Pushkin’s 1834 fairy tale poem of the same name, Rimsky-Korsakov {…}

Dec 21, 2021

English Touring Opera Announces Spring 2022 Performances

(Credit: English Touring Opera official website) The English Touring Opera has announced its 2022 spring performances. Here is a full slate. Puccini’s “La bohème” features Francesca Chiejina and Paula Sides as Mimì; Jenny Stafford and April Koyejo-Audiger in the role of Musetta; and Luciano Botelho and Thomas Elwin as Rodolfo. The cast is rounded out by Michel de Souza, Jerome {…}

Jan 8, 2021

Obituary: Soprano Tamara Sorokina Dies at 89

Credit: https://www.classicalmusicnews.ru/ Famed Russian soprano Tamara Sorokina has died at the age of 89. Sorokina graduated from the Conservatoire in Leningrad in 1952. Between 1952 and 1954 she was a soloist at the Leningrad Opera. Starting 1954 and until 1982 Sorokina was the soloist of the Bolshoi Theatre. She performed a number of major roles throughout her career with the {…}

Dec 3, 2020

Academy of Vocal Arts Announces Russian Romances Recital

The Academy of Vocal Arts has announced its annual Russian Romances Recital, scheduled for Dec. 12, 2020. The event, which will be aired via the institution’s official YouTube channel starting at 7:30 p.m. EST, will feature a number of major Russian hits led by vocal coach Ghenady Meirson, who is the program’s music director and pianist. Tenor Shawn Roth will {…}

Oct 15, 2020

Teatro Petruzzelli Postpones ‘The Golden Cockerel’ Due To COVID-19

The Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari has announced the postponement of the run of Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera “The Golden Cockerel” due to COVID-19. The opera was slated to run between Oct. 30, 2020, and Nov. 5, 2020. The operatic masterwork was supposed to star Aleksei Tikhomirov, Mikhail Gujov, Dmitry Khromov, Dmitry Yankovskiy, Grigoriy Soloviev, Sergej Toptygin, Kseniya Viaznikova, Larisa Kostyuk, Ivan Volkov, {…}

Oct 9, 2020

Anna Netrebko to Perform at Philharmonie de Paris

(Credit: © Dario Acosta) Soprano Anna Netrebko will perform a double recital at the Philharmonie de Paris on Nov. 11, 2020. The soprano will give the first recital at 5:00 p.m CET, and the second one will follow at 8:30 p.m. at the Grande salle Pierre Boulez. Anna Netrebko will be joined onstage by the mezzo-soprano Elena Maximova. Giovanni Andrea Zanon {…}

Sep 2, 2020

Chicago Opera Theater Announces Digital 2020-21 Season

(Credit: Michael Brosilow) Chicago Opera Theater has announced an extensive digital 2020-21 season, which will feature five full operas. “Like most arts organizations, we’ve had to take stock of our values and strengths to determine how best to approach our season,” said Stefan Edlis and Gael Neeson General Director Ashley Magnus in a press release. “For COT, the priority is {…}

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov