(Photo: Pat Redmond) The reaction of the audience at Dundalk’s Táin Theatre to Irish National Opera’s performance of Donizetti’s “Don Pasquale” said it all! Every scene, every joke, every overplayed reaction, every facial exaggeration was met with unaffected laughter. Rarely does one find an audience so totally engaged with a piece. At the final curtain, the performance was met with {…}
The Donizetti Opera Festival has announced the titles for the 2023 season. The festival noted that it will present its annual “LUOpeRave” which will use Donizetti’s music in electronic form. The festival will present “Il diluvio universal” with Music Director Riccardo Frizza conducting the rarely performed work. The cast will include Nahuel Di Pierro, Nicolò Donini, Davide Zaccherini, Eduardo Martínez, Sabrina Gárdez, {…}
The year is about to end but before it does, here are two new releases that you can’t miss. What’s more, they are rarely performed operas. Titon et l’Aurore Naxos releases Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville’s opera with Reinoud van Mechelen, Gwendoline Blondeel, Emmanuelle de Negri, Marc Mauillon, Julie Roset, and Renato Dolcini. Les Arts Florissants is led by William Christie {…}
This week audiences get to discover two Bel Canto gems, a world premiere recording, a debut album, and a new album by the “people’s diva.” Here is a look at this week’s new releases. Voice of Nature: The Anthropocene Renée Fleming releases a new album for Decca Classics featuring Yannick Nézet-Séguin on the piano. The record feature music by Edvard {…}
On August 25 and 27, the Luglio Musicale Trapanese will present a production of “Don Pasquale” at the open-air Theatre Giuseppe Di Stefano. The production will star Federico Longhi in the title role in a revival production by Pier Francesco Maestrini. The production will also star Francesca Benitez as Norina, Patrick Kabongo as Ernesto, and Alessio Arduini as Malatesta. The {…}
(Credits: Opéra Nice Côte d’Azur official website) L’Opéra Nice Côte d’Azur has announced its 2021-22 season. Here is a look at the operatic and vocal performances. Opera “Réunion de Famille” features music and arias from “Akhnaten,” “La Dame blanche,” “Macbeth,” and “Le Voyage dans la lune,” and spotlights the Choeur de l’Opéra Nice Côte d’Azur. Daniele Callegari conducts. Performance date: {…}
Opéra de Metz Métropole in France has announced its 2021-22 season. For the purpose of this article, we will focus on vocal performances. Gioacchino Rossini‘s “Le Comte Ory” opens the season. The opera features Patrick Kabongo, Perrine Madoeuf, Catherine Trottmann, Cécile Galois, Armando Noguera, Leonardo Galeazzi, and Aurore Weiss. Corinna Niemeyer conducts the production by Sylvie Laligne. Performance dates: Oct {…}
Vicenza’s Teatro Olimpico, designed by Palladio in 1580, is Europe’s oldest indoor theater. It is based on Vitruvius’s description of the theatres of Ancient Rome, and therefore, Classical in style. It has an elliptical, steeply-raked seating space as found in Ancient Greek and Roman open-air theatres, which provides for unrestricted views of the stage. Its auditorium is decorated by plaster {…}