Dean Murphy, Jonathan Burton, Stephanie Doche & Guadalupe Paz Lead San Diego Opera’s 2025-26 Season

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 {…}

Oct 7, 2024

Metropolitan Opera 2024-25 Review: Tosca

(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 {…}

Jul 3, 2024

Opera Theatre Saint Louis 2024 Review: The Barber of Seville

(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 {…}

Mar 15, 2024

Sara LeMesh, Karen Chia-Ling Ho & Zach Borichevsky Lead Florentine Opera’s 2024-25 Season

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. {…}

Mar 5, 2024

Metropolitan Opera’s ‘La Forza del Destino’ Set for HD Broadcast

(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 {…}

Feb 27, 2024

Metropolitan Opera 2023-24 Review: La Forza del Destino

(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 {…}

Mar 30, 2023

Daniela Mack, Nicholas Phan & Michelle Bradley Lead Boston Baroque’s 2023-24 Season

The Boston Baroque has announced its 2023-24 season featuring a number of vocal performances. The Boston Baroque opens its season with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 featuring Heidi Stober, Daniela Mack, William Burden, and Eric Owens. The program also includes the “Coriolan” Overture and Elegiac Song. Performance Dates: Oct. 13-15, 2023 The company will also perform Handel’s Messiah with Amanda Forsythe, {…}

Mar 10, 2023

J’Nai Bridges, Ben Bliss, Marco Jordao, & Patrick Carfizzi in Art Bath Spring 2023 Season

Art Bath announced its spring 2023 season. The immersive arts salon will host a variety of performances this season, this article will only mention the opera-related events. All concerts take place at the Blue Building in NYC and start at 8 pm. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera bass-baritone Patrick Carfizzi will provide vocals alongside instrumental, ballet, and visual arts. Performance {…}

Oct 6, 2022

Metropolitan Opera 2022-23 Review: Tosca

(Credit: KarenAlmond/Metropolitan Opera) A “shabby little shocker.” That’s how musicologist Joseph Kerman described Puccini’s “Tosca.” Shabby? No. A little shocker? No. It’s a big shocker. Perhaps we’ve become inured to how dark and violent “Tosca” is with scenes of rape, murder, torture, and suicide. There was no mistaking the grittiness of Puccini’s fast-paced thriller at the Metropolitan Opera. The October {…}

Feb 18, 2021

San Diego Opera Announces Spring Season

The San Diego Opera has announced a Spring season made up of Drive-In events. The Spring Season opens on Saturday, April 24, 2021, at 7:30 PM with “One Amazing Night,” the company’s annual concert of arias and duets with the San Diego Symphony. This year’s one-night-only event will feature soloists from the San Diego Opera chorus and will be conducted {…}

Oct 22, 2020

Angel Blue, Erin Morley, Etienne Dupuis, Nicole Car, Iestyn Davies Highlight Santa Fe Opera 2021 Season

(Credits: Sonya Garza / Monarca Studios / Yan Bleney / Yan Bleney / Marco Borggreve) The Santa Fe Opera has announced its 2021 season, which will run from July 10 through August 27, 2021. The opera house will present 30 performances of four operas, and a special concert featuring soprano Angel Blue. “The pandemic has been tragic and it’s not {…}