Grange Park Opera, Surrey has announced its 2022 season, which will feature operas by Janáček, Ponchielli, Verdi, and Wagner. Several of opera’s biggest stars, including Bryn Terfel, Simon Keenlyside, and Joseph Calleja, are slated to perform opera at its most grand. Here’s what is in store for audiences when the season kicks off in June 2022. First up is Janáček’s {…}
When the the Gran Teatre del Liceu announced that legendary octogenarian Italian regista Pier Luigi Pizzi would be directing a new production of “La Gioconda” with Iréne Theorin making her title role debut, it was on paper at least, a must-see event. Unfortunately the parchment tended to perforate even before the prima when the celebrated Swedish diva canceled and second-cast {…}
For the average older music lover, “Dance of the Hours” invariably conjures up images of Walt Disney’s plump pirouetting hippos in “Fantasia.” Or possibly Allan Sherman’s summer-camp horror story “Hello Mudda, Hello Fadda.” Any connection to Amilcare’s Ponchielli’s very grand opera “La Gioconda” would more likely be left to the erudition of the panel on the Metropolitan Opera quiz. “Gioconda” {…}
OperaVision will start streaming La Monnaie’s production of “La Gioconda” on Feb. 12, 2019. Béatrice Uria-Monzon headlines in the title role while Silvia Tro Santafé takes on Laura. Franco Vassallo is Barnaba and Ning Liang is La Cieca. Finally, Jean Teitgen is Alvise. Stefano La Colla is Enzo. The stream kicks off at 7 p.m. local time. That’s around 1 p.m. {…}
Amilcare Ponchielli, born on August 31, 1834, was a compositional child prodigy. He was born in Paderno Fasolaro and was admitted to the Milan Conservatory at age nine on a scholarship he earned. By the age of 10 he already written his first symphony and a few years after leaving the conservatory, he wrote his first opera. His second work, {…}
Amilcare Ponchielli’s “La Gioconda,” which had its world premiere on April 8, 1876, has never been a major staple of the repertoire. In the mid-1900s, the work, which was written by Arrigo Boito, was a vehicle for star sopranos and tenors due to its expansive arias and endlessly melodic passages. But in recent years, the work has garnered less interest {…}
Arrigo Boito, born on Feb. 24, 1842, has marked his space in the opera world mainly through his opera “Mefistofele.” He didn’t get a chance to create much other music, his final work, “Nerone,” never coming to full fruition. But he did leave his mark in other major ways. Here is a look at his most famous works, outside of {…}
