(Photo: Nikolai Wolff) Franz Joseph Haydn’s “L’isola disabitata” (1779) runs for just eighty minutes, making it a uniquely compact chamber opera. The Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century production at Oldenburg State Theater fully embraced this inherent brevity by adopting a minimal stage design. During the overture, a simple grey backdrop was manually raised, coming alive as lighting cues cast shifting {…}
(Photo: Frances Marshall) Even the rain that poured down for almost the entire performance did little to dampen the audience’s enthusiasm for the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival’s headline event, Benjamin Britten’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” that took place in Lismore Castle grounds. Although the seating area was protected by a canopy, it could not stop the chilled air from blowing {…}
(Photo credit: Sean O’Riordan) The Blackwater Valley Opera Festival unveils programming for its 15th anniversary season. For the purposes of this article, only vocal works are featured. Recitals & Mainstage Performances Festival artists and the Discover Singing Children’s Choir perform in the opening ceremony. Performance Date: May 27, 2025 (Lismore Millennium Park) Purcell’s “Dido And Aeneas” is presented by mezzo-soprano {…}