(Credit: Victor Santiago) This past week, Francesco Meli made his role debut as “Otello” in Verdi’s masterpiece. It marked his 18th Verdi role and a return to the Venice house where has sung many of those Verdi works. But in the run-up to the premiere of the opera, Meli’s comments in an interview with Il Giornale became the center of {…}
The Teatro La Fenice has canceled the opening night of the 2024-25 season due to a strike called by the main theater unions of the company. The company said that the Nov. 20 performance will no longer take place but the following performances on Nov. 23, 26, 29, and Dec. 1 are still set to be performed as scheduled. Ticketholders {…}
(Image Courtesy of Vashon Opera) Vashon Opera is set to present Verdi’s “Otello” on Sept. 20 and 22, 2024. The production, which will take place at the Vashon Center for the Arts, will star Errin Brooks in the title role alongside Jennifer Krikawa as Desdemona and Chad Armstrong as Iago. Other cast members include Brendan Tuohy, Soon Cho, Zachary Lenox, {…}
On August 4, 2024, the Wiener Staatsoper is set to present Verdi’s “Otello” at the Film Festival auf dem Wiener Rathausplatz. The recording, filmed in October 2023, will be screened at 9:00 and showcases a production by Adrian Noble conducted by Alexander Soddy. Jonas Kaufmann stars in the title role alongside Rachel Willis-Sørensen as Desdemona and Ludivoc Tézier as Iago. {…}
Sesto Quatrini and Nino Machaidze are set to perform two “Otello” operas at Oper Frankfurt. Quatrini and Machaidze will first perform Rossini’s work from May 17 to June 15, 2024 and then will move straight into Verdi’s masterwork from June 22 to July 12, 2024. This marks Machaidze’s role debut as Desdemona in Verdi’s opera. She has previously sung Rossini’s {…}
Credit: Vincent Beaume When Pierre Audi, the director of Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, announced that Jonas Kaufmann and Ludovic Tézier would sing in a one-night-only concert version of “Otello,” tickets sold out in a minute. Even admittance for critics was scarce, and the festival gave seats out only when audience members turned in their tickets. Ill in London, Kaufmann canceled. This reviewer’s {…}
Tenor Andrea Bocelli has release a new recording of Verdi’s “Otello.” The opera stars Bocelli in the famed title role alongside soprano Marina Rebeka as Desdemona and Massimo Cavalletti as Iago. Conductor Steven Mercucio leads the recording and the Orchestra del Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa. This is the first opera recording Bocelli has appeared in since a 2016 recording {…}
(Photo by Olivia Kahler) American soprano Rachel Willis-Sørensen is known for her diverse repertoire ranging from Mozart to Wagner. She has performed at leading opera houses around the world to high acclaim. She won first prize at the 2014 Operalia competition in Los Angeles and at the 2011 Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition, and she was a winner of the {…}
The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino has announced a cast change for its production of Verdi’s “Otello.” The company that the role of Desdemona will be performed by Zarina Abaeva replacing the originally announced Anastasia Bartoli. Abaeva has performed at the Perm Opera and Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, among others. Her repertoire includes the music of Puccini, Tchaikovsky, Poulenc, Offenbach, Bizet, and Verdi. The {…}
The Los Angeles Opera is set to present a free live broadcast for the opening performance of Verdi’s “Otello.” The company will showcase the famed opera on May 13, 2023 at the Santa Monica Pier and CSU Dominguez Hills. The gates open at 5:30 p.m. at both location with the opera set to kick off two hours later. There will {…}
The Maggio Musicale has announced a cast change for its production of “Otello.” The company said that the title role will be performed by Arsen Soghomonyan, who will replace the originally announced Fabio Sartori. Soghomonyan is a soloist with the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theatre. Prior to his debut as a tenor was the leading baritone of the Theatre. He {…}