Lawrence Brownlee is one of the great bel canto tenors of this generation, singing the works of Donizetti, Rossini, and Bellini, among others, to tremendous critical success around the globe. He is currently in the midst of a run in one of his signature roles as Arturo in Bellini’s “I Puritani” at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and prepping for {…}
This week’s offerings range from the modern to the classical in an assortment of options all around the continent. Six. Twenty. Outrageous – American Opera Projects For three days, the American Opera Projects world premieres the new opera by Daniel Thomas Davis with a cast that includes Ariadne Greif, Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek, and Andrew Fuchs. The performances will take place at {…}
Italian soprano Herva Nelli, born on Jan. 9, 1909, may not be a major household name the way other sopranos of the early 20th century have become, but she surely had an adventurous and prolific career that kicked off in the United States. Born in Italy, her family moved to the States when she was but 10, eventually studying at {…}
It’s popular to make year-end lists, and I saw between 30-35 performances during the calendar year. Much of what I saw was terrific and, of course, there were many more outstanding performances that I didn’t see. These are the five that I will remember the most from what I saw; they are not necessarily the best but will remain in {…}
Lauren Snouffer, Mark Stone, and Anthony Roth Costanzo are set to star in the Philadelphia premiere of George Benjamin’s “Written on Skin.” Opera Philadelphia will present the first American new staging of the work since its world premiere in 2012. The opera is considered by many as one of the “century’s most successful new operas” and this season the work will be {…}
The Curtis Institute of Music, Opera Philadelphia, and the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts have announced a new partnership to establish Curtis Opera Theatre at the Perelman. The partnership will feature a spring series featuring two Curtis Opera Theatre productions at the Kimmel Center’s Perelman Theater for the 2017–18 and 2018–19 seasons. For its first year, the series will include a March {…}
Opera Philadelphia’s acclaimed production of “We Shalll Not be Moved” will make its New York premiere at the Apollo Theater next Friday, Oct. 6, after making its world premiere earlier this month at the O17 festival. This new chamber opera is a collaboration between Haitian-American composer Daniel Bernard Roumain, Haitian-American spoken word artist Marc Bamuthi Joseph, and director Bill T. Jones. {…}
On Sept. 18, Opera Philadelphia world premiered “The Wake World” as part of its 2017 festival. Composer David Hertzberg created an immersive experience that was showcased at the Barnes Foundation and that experimented with form and melody. As one of Opera Philadelphia’s 2017-2018 Composers-in-Residence, in a program offered in collaboration with Music-Theatre Group, Hertzberg will continue to be an active {…}
It is another busy weekend in the opera world with more and more companies opening their doors for the fall season. Opera Philadelphia is the first new addition to the weekend with its first performance of “The Magic Flute” on Friday and Sunday. On Saturday, the company showcases the world premiere of Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell’s “Elizabeth Cree,” which {…}
Rihab Chaieb is a rising star in the opera world having won the 2016 Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition and becoming a member of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Program. The Tunisian mezzo-soprano has quickly earned praise singing a number of houses including the Canadian Opera Company where she was a member of the Ensemble Studio and participant in {…}
It’s never an easy task to open a season at an opera house. But it’s even more challenging to open a season with a role debut and a world premiere. That is the feat that Daniela Mack is tasked with this week as she takes on the role of “Elizabeth Cree” in Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell’s latest collaboration. Mack, {…}