The Atlanta Opera is set to perform Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro.” The production by Stephen Lawless will be conducted by Christoper Allen Brandon Cedel leads the cast as Figaro while Sydney Mancasola will sing the role of Susanna. They will be joined by Luke Sutliff as Count Almaviva, Iulia Maria Dan as the Countess, Rihab Chaieb as Cherubino and {…}
The San Diego Opera is set to perform Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville” at the San Diego Civic Theatre. The production, which is set to be performed on Feb. 13, 14 & 15, 2026 will star Dean Murphy as Figaro in his house debut, Stephanie Doche as Rosina, Minghao Liu as Count Almaviva, Patrick Carfizzi as Doctor Bartolo, Craig Colclough {…}
Thomas Hampson and Pavel Černoch have withdrawn from performances of Samuel Barber’s “Vanessa” presented by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Lyric Opera. As a result, Hampson will be replaced by Patrick Carfizzi. Hampson also took to social media and said, “It is with profound frustration, depression, that I must cancel my week in Boston singing Barber’s ‘Vanessa’ due to {…}
The Curtis Institute of Music has announced several major appointments to its voice and opera department beginning in the 2025–26 school year. Among the artists joining the faculty are bass-baritones Patrick Carfizzi and Alan Held; baritone Elliot Madore (Opera ’10, Voice ’09); and sopranos Amanda Majeski (Opera ’09), Jennifer Rowley, and Karen Slack (Opera ’02). Moreover, the institution has announced {…}
(Credit: Evan Zimmerman / Met Opera) An immigrant and a gay man join forces to create art that defeats Nazis. While this simple sentence reduces all the complexities at play in “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay,” it also gets to the core of a battle that permeates to this day and provides us with the kind of hope {…}
The San Diego Opera has announced its 2025-26 season. The season opens with Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci. ” Yves Abel conducts a cast that includes Jonathan Burton, Hailey Clark, and Kidon Choi. Christopher Mattaliano directs. Performance Dates: Oct. 31-Nov. 2, 2025 Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville” will star Dean Murphy, Minghao Liu, Stephanie Doche, Patrick Carfizzi, and Craig Colclough. Yves Abel conducts the production by {…}
(Photo credit: Karen Almond / Met Opera) This season’s premiere of Met Opera’s “Tosca” features Polish soprano Aleksandra Kurzak, in the titular role, marking her 100th Met performance. Her Met debut was in 2004 as Olympia in Offenbach’s “Les Contes d’Hoffmann” and her performances leading up to this season have all been unforgettable, especially Kurzak as Tosca. Her voice alongside tenor {…}
(Photo credit: Eric Woolsey) “The Barber of Seville” can be tough to sit through. Opera Theatre Saint Louis (OTSL) swam upstream furiously against the libretto’s banalities to produce an entertaining show, with standout performances from Justin Austin in the title role, and Hongni Wu as Rosina. In youth, I received as a gift the London/Decca recording featuring Leo Nucci as {…}
The Florentine Opera has announced its 2024-25 season. Karen Chia-Ling Ho leads Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly“ with Adam Diegel, Kristen Choi, and Grant Youngblood. Francesco Milioto conducts the production by Mo Zhou. Performance Dates: Oct. 18 & 20, 2024 Handel’s “Acis & Galatea” will star Sara LeMesh, Patrick Bessenbacher, Matt Boehler, and Jerek Fernández. Francesco Milioto conducts the production by E. {…}
(Credit: Karen Almond/Met Opera) The Metropolitan Opera’s production of Verdi’s “La Forza del Destino” is set to be transmitted in Live in HD on March 9, 2024. The production will star Lise Davidsen, Brian Jagde, Igor Golovatenko, Judit Kutasi, Patrick Carfizzi, and Soloman Howard. Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts the performance. The production is the third Met staging from award-winning director Mariusz Treliński {…}
(Credit: Karen Almond) It’s been a long time since “La Forza del Destino” got a chance on the Met stage. To be exact, it’s been about 18 years. Back then, in 2006, the Verdi melodrama was presented in an imposing traditionally-set production with a cast of Italianate voices. It was supposed to return a decade later in a new production {…}