As opera lovers prepare for a new cast in Gounod’s “Roméo et Juliette,” Stephen Costello and Pretty Yende will preview arias and duets on Valentine’s Day. The two singers will participate in WQXR’S Classical Beer Jam at the Jerome L. Greene Performance Space in downtown Manhattan, marking their first public appearance together. The event will take place on Feb. 14 and {…}
Juan Diego Florez is one of the most beloved tenors around the world. He has dominated the Bel Canto repertoire for years and his mastery of coloratura is unmeasured. For years the tenor has made an effort to revive works that are rarely performed or simply have been lost in the repertoire. These works have been given special treatment as {…}
Another weekend in 2017, even more operatic activity around the United States. Of course the Metropolitan Opera continues its busy schedule with “Il Barbiere di Sivilgia,” “La Bohème” and “Roméo et Juliette” the three major offerings with such stars as Javier Camarena, Pretty Yende, Ailyn Pérez, Michael Fabiano, Vittorio Grigolo and Diana Damrau leading the casts for their respective operas {…}
This review is for the performance on Monday Jan. 10, 2017. Rossini’s “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” is one of the most famous works in the operatic repertoire as well as one of the funniest. It contains some of the most memorable melodies and space for singers to fool around and provide vocal fireworks. In recent years, the Metropolitan Opera has {…}
Kazakhstan will play host to the 25th Operalia Competition in July 2017. The famed competition will be making its return to Eastern Europe after making an appearance there in 2011 at Moscow. It also took place in Pécs and Budapest in 2009. Otherwise the competition has mainly done rounds in Western Europe, North America and Asia (Tokyo and Beijing). Last {…}
Its rare to become an overnight sensation nowadays in the opera world. It takes years for some singers while others struggle to even get noticed and ink to obscurity. However, for Pretty Yende her career has taken a turn in places she least expected. This season the soprano is taking New York audiences by storm as she will sing two {…}
Rossini’s famed “Il Barbiere di Sivilgia” or “The Barber of Seville” returns to the Metropolitan Opera on Monday, Jan. 9, 2017 with an all-star cast for a whopping 10 performances through early February. Here is a look at what to expect from the company’s revival of the beloved work. The Performers A few years ago, Peter Mattei made a name {…}
With the weekend coming up lets take a look at what some of our favorite stars were up to this week Pretty Yende Yende had the week of her life as she was rehearsing for the revival of Rossini’s “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” and in the middle of the week she got to perform on the Late Show for Stephen {…}
Last night Pretty Yende made her debut on Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show.” The coloratura soprano performed the cavatina to Una voce poco fa” from Rossini’s “Il Barbiere Di Siviglia,” a role she is currently rehearsing at the Metropolitan Opera. The soprano performed alongside members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra with Maurizio Benini conducting. Colbert introduced the soprano with the cover {…}
Rising opera star Pretty Yende will be performing on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Tuesday evening. She will be the live performance segment of the show, which will also feature Oprah Winfrey. Colbert has invited prominent opera stars before to be on his show. In 2012, he featured Placido Domingo in a memorable episode that saw the two {…}
Gounod’s beloved “Romeo Juliette” returns to the Met on New Years Eve with a star cast that includes two singers that had electric chemistry in another great French work a few years ago. The Performers Diana Damrau and Vittorio were a dynamic duo when they took the stage for Massenet’s “Manon” back in March 2015. Their chemistry was revered by {…}
