(Credit: Gran Teatre Del Liceu official website) The Gran Teatre Del Liceu has announced that mezzo-soprano Stéphanie d’Oustrac has cancelled her participation in Offenbach’s “Les contes d’Hoffmann” on Jan. 19 & 31, 2021 in the role of La Musa/Nicklausse, due to health reasons. As a result, mezzo-soprano Carol García will perform in her stead. García will join the cast that {…}
Credit: Bayerische Staatsoper official website The Royal Danish Opera has announced that Italian conductor Paolo Carignani has been appointed the new Chief Guest Conductor, starting in the 2021-22 season. The contract will last for three years. Carignani will replace the late conductor Alexander Vedernikov in his new position. “Paolo has gained great recognition as a conductor at the Royal Theater {…}
(Credit: Opernhaus Zürich official website / Basel.com) In light of the Swiss government’s announcement on cultural events, two major opera companies in Switzerland have announced alterations to their 2020-21 seasons. Opernhaus Zürich announced that it will stay closed until the end of January 2021 at the very least. The opera house was forced to cancel January performances after new Swiss {…}
Credit: Marica Rosengard Celebrated Finnish soprano Karita Mattila has been awarded the Order of the Lion of Finland, First Class Commander Badge. The Order of the Lion of Finland is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty and the Order of the White Rose of Finland. The famed Finnish soprano has {…}
The Opernhaus Zürich has canceled all performances until Jan. 2. The company announced that due to surges in COVID-19 cases and restrictions imposed by the pandemic, the company will cancel all productions scheduled for the month of December. The productions include Rossini’s “Il viaggio a Reims” in Christoph Marthaler’s production, as well as all performances of Handel’s “Alcina with Cecilia {…}
(Credit: Marco Borggreve) Famed Russian conductor Alexander Vedernikov has died at the age of 56, after having been diagnosed with COVID-19. Vedernikov died on Friday, Oct. 30 after being put on a ventilator for few days following the diagnosis. Born in Moscow, Vedernikov was the son of the bass Alexander Filipovich Vedernikov and Natalia Nikolaevna Gureeva. The conductor went on {…}
(Credit: Ray Burmiston/Decca Classics) “I hope that we will be more grateful for the fact that we get to do what we do, that we can sit next to each other in a concert hall and have some more respect for others when they’re not feeling great or are down. We need to come out of this pandemic more supportive {…}
(Credit: Monika Rittershaus) The Opernhaus Zürich has announced three live streams scheduled for Sept. 25 through 27, 2020. In a statement, the company said, “After the painful cancellation of ‘oper für alle’ in June 2020 due to the Coronavirus, we are very pleased to announce that this popular format will be continued in digital form from Sept. 25-27, 2020. Thanks {…}
(Credits: Gisela Schenker / Gerard Collett / © wildundleise.de) Opernhaus Zürich has announced that it will reopen on September 20, 2020, with the fully staged production of Modest Mussorgsky’s gigantic opera “Boris Godunov.” The cast for the opera includes Michael Volle, Lina Dambrauskaité, Irène Friedli, John Daszak, Konstantin Shushakov, Brindley Sherratt, Edgaras Montvidas, Oksana Volkova, Johannes Martin Kränzle, Alexei Botnarciuc, {…}
(Credit: Ray Burmiston) “One voice in a million.” This is the kind of phrase on which legacies, mythologies, histories are built. And it’s the phrase that continues to crop up whenever Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen enters the operatic conversation. The soprano has definitely played her part in bringing about this idea that her voice is of a unique power. She {…}
(Credits: Dragana Branković/Katarina Bradić) Known for her deep and diverse vocal versatility and also theatrical prowess, Katarina Bradić swiftly conquered the major European opera stages—Teatro Real, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Staatsoper unter der Linden, Komische Oper Berlin, Theater Basel, Bolshoi Theater, Theater an der Wien, Den Norske Opera, Opernhaus Zürich, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Bayerische Staatsoper, La Monnaie, De Nationale Opera {…}
