Oper Frankfurt’s new season is massive. It is loaded up with over a dozen new productions and even more revivals. Premieres Damiano Michieletto directs a new production of Rossini’s “Otello” starring Enea Scala in the title role, Karolina Makuła as Desdemona, Theo Lebow as Iago, and Jack Swanson as Rodrigo. Sesto Quatrini conducts. Performance Dates: Sept. 8-Oct. 20, 2019 Asmik Grigorian sings {…}
The Opera Royal de Wallonie-Liege has announced its 2019-20 season featuring nine operas, six of which are new productions. Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” opens the season in a new production by Stefano Mazzonis di Pralafera. Two casts will be led under the baton of Speranza Scappucci, featuring Svetlana Aksenova and Yasko Sato sharing the title role, Alexey Dolgov and Dominick Chenes {…}
Audiences who are unable to get to the Opéra National de Paris will still have a chance to check out some of the company’s many productions via cinema. In sum, the company will be showcasing four operas in movie theaters in 2019-20. They will also showcase three other productions from other venues. First up will be Verdi’s “La Traviata” on {…}
“Don Pasquale” is often considered Donizetti’s comic masterpiece, and if it is not perform as regularly as Donizetti’s “ L’Elisir d’Amore” one need not look further than the demanding part written for the tenor; but when you have Javier Camarena in the cast, you have no reason to worry about anything. But this production was not only about the great {…}
On April 20 a concert in solidarity of the “Rebâtir Notre Dame de Paris” has been announced in order to raise funds to rebuild the iconic cathedral. The concert, which will be held at the Place des Invalides, will showcase a number of important artists across all genres. Among the opera singers performing at the concert are Pretty Yende, Julie Fuchs, and {…}
This weekend is all about the stars. From Vienna to Germany to the United Kingdom, every cast has some of the world’s greats performing. Check out this weekend’s picks! Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci – Wiener Staatsoper, Austria Jean-Pierre Ponnelle’s production continues at the Vienna house with a starry cast that includes Yonghoon Lee singing Turiddu and Fabio Sartori as Canio. Elina Garanca stars {…}
The Opéra National de Paris has announced its 2019-20 seasons which will feature a total of 19 operas and the entire Ring Cycle in an all-new production. Bellini’s “I Puritani” opens the season in a production by Laurent Pelly. Elsa Dreisig takes the leading role with Javier Camarena and Francesco Demuro sharing the role of Arturo. Riccardo Frizza conducts the {…}
The Met Opera’s Live in HD series continues this Saturday, March 2, 2019 with a performance of Donizetti’s comic gem “La Fille du Régiment.” The broadcast, which kicks off 12:55 p.m. Eastern time, will feature Pretty Yende as the titular heroine Marie. Starring as Tonio and tasked with singing nine high C’s will be tenor Javier Camarena. Other cast members {…}
This review was written as a collaboration between David & Francisco Salazar for the performance on Feb. 7, 2019. Over the course of five months the Metropolitan Opera has shown everything from Verismo, French, Classical, Contemporary, Russian, Hungarian and German opera; there has also been a solid abundance of Verdi opera. What has sorely been missing are works that have {…}
On Feb. 7, 2019, the Metropolitan Opera will revive Donizetti’s “La Fille du Régiment” for the 110th time in its history. The title heroine is undeniably one of the biggest stories every time that the opera is revived. In this production’s case, the leading lady will be Pretty Yende in what will be her 50th Met performance on opening night. {…}
Carnegie Hall has announced its 2019-20 season! The 2019-20 season will honor the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth with over 35 performances celebrating the composer’s work and impact and will be dedicated to violinist, educator, and activist Isaac Stern, 2020 marking the centenary of his birth. We will focus primarily on vocal performances in this season announcement. Orchestras The first {…}