On Thursday, April 13, 2017, the Vienna State Opera is live streaming its current run of Wagner’s “Parsifal.” The Vienna State Opera’s current production of “Parsifal” has garnered strong reviews since it debuted a few weeks ago with Classical Source praising conductor Semyon Bychov for leading “a patient but never dragging interpretation. He and his musicians demonstrated great endurance and {…}
No opera house has more superstars on the roster next season than the Bayerische Staatsoper. Anna Netrebko and Jonas Kaufmann, arguably the two biggest stars in the opera world, will both appear in Munich in 2017-18, albeit in limited runs. Their appearances in America are limited to a total of eight shows between the two of them. In Munich, that {…}
Imagine a major singer suddenly cancel an opera that is just two days away from opening? Most opera houses have a cover ready to step in and in other cases, there are top singers that come in as quick replacements. But when do you go from a high-profile star to arguably the man most famous for the role you are {…}
Every season brings new surprises, some of which may be of the disappointing variety. In disappointment, we mean singers that we love and treasure but are unable to see get the proper representation. Here is a look at the singers that were shockingly left off the roster this year. Diana Damrau: It may not have been the perfect 2016-17 season {…}
It’s Feburary so all companies are in full swing. This weekend Verdi and Strauss highlight major houses and Joyce DiDonato returns to the stage with a new role. Here is a look! Austria Audiences are in for a triple Verdi weekend at the Wiener Staatsoper starting with “Otello” starring Kristian Benedikt, Carlos Álvarez and Olga Bezsmertna. It will be followed {…}
The ending of Puccini’s “Turandot” is one of opera’s great tragedies. The composer, at the peak of his power, had composed his most musically daring work to date with some of his most phenomenal strokes of dramatic genius alongside some of his most riveting and enduring melodies. And yet, when he was ever so close to completing it, he hit {…}
This week two new DVDs will be released featuring some of the greatest singers in the world. Puccini’s “Turandot” The first of Riccardo Chailly’s Puccini series will be released this week from Decca Classics. The DVD, which was recorded in 2015 features an all star cast that includes Nina Stemme, Maria Agresta and Aleksandrs Antonenko. The new DVD has the {…}
Do you have any plans this weekend? If not the world’s greatest singers are currently on stage all over Europe and you may have a chance to catch them singing a great opera. Austria The weekend kicks off at the Vienna state Opera with Korngold’s “Die Tote Stadt” with Klaus Florian Vogt, Camilla Nylund and Adrian Erod. Mikko Franck conducts the {…}
The San Francisco has announced its 2017-18 season with major classics making a return to the house and one significant world premiere slated to close out 2017. The big announcement of the day was that this season is music director Nicola Liusiotti’s last with the company, though it was hinted that the company would find ways to have him return {…}
Kazakhstan will play host to the 25th Operalia Competition in July 2017. The famed competition will be making its return to Eastern Europe after making an appearance there in 2011 at Moscow. It also took place in Pécs and Budapest in 2009. Otherwise the competition has mainly done rounds in Western Europe, North America and Asia (Tokyo and Beijing). Last {…}
Latvian director Alvis Hermanis has backed out of a production of Lohengrin in Bayreuth. According to MV Online, the director’s political views were not necessarily at the core of his decision to renounce the production. Last year he quit a production in Hamburg, citing a disdain for Germany’s open border policies toward refugees. He published a statement in three languages {…}