(Photos: Marty Sohl / Met Opera) The Metropolitan Opera’s “La Bohème” celebrated a new season of success thanks to Kensho Watanabe at the podium and a stunning cast of favorites, including Ailyn Pérez, Dmytro Popov, Boris Pinkhasovich, Bogdan Talos, Emily Pogorelc, Gihoon Kim, and Donald Maxwell. Conductor Kensho Watanabe’s Midas Touch Conductor Kensho Watanabe, who made his Met debut with {…}
As chance would have it, the day the Paris cathedral reopened was also the 100th anniversary of Puccini’s birth. To mark the occasion, his “Messe di gloria” was performed at Metz’s Saint-Etienne cathedral on November 29. The last descendant of a long line of organists in his home town of Lucca, Puccini, only twenty-two, wrote a religious work with this {…}
Orchestra Miami is set to honor the legacy of Giacomo Puccini with a 100th-anniversary concert led by conductor Elaine Rinaldi. The event kicks off at 8 p.m. on Nov. 23, 2024 at the historic Miami Scottish Rite Temple. The performance has particular emotional resonance for Rinaldi, who credits the composer as the inspiration for her career. “In 1992, I was hit {…}
The Korean National Opera is set to present Puccini’s “La Fanciulla del West” this December. Sopranos Rim Se-kyung and Kim Eun-hee share the lead role of Minnie. They are joined by Antonio Yang and Insu Hwang as Jack Rance and tenors Sungkyu Park and Yoon Suk Han as Dick Johnson / Rammerez. other cast members include Doho Kang, Jared Werlein, {…}
(Photo: Padraig Grant) To mark the hundredth anniversary of the death of Giacomo Puccini, the Wexford Festival Opera commissioned William Niall Morris to create a short work celebrating the composer’s life and music. The result was a short piece, lasting about an hour, entitled “Puccini: Man of the Theatre,” which essentially amounted to a selection of his greatest hits linked {…}
(Credit: Rosie Hardy) Lise Lindstrom recently took time to converse with Benjamin Torbert for OperaWire. Lindstrom sings all three Brünnhildes in “Die Walküre,” “Siegfried,” and “Götterdämmerung” in the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s very lightly staged concert presentation of Wagner’s “Der Ring Des Nibelungen,” on 13-20 October 2024. She already appeared with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for two performances of “Walküre” in {…}
Opera Baltimore and OperaDelaware will join forces to present Puccini’s “La Bohème.” The Puccini classic will take the stage at Stephens Hall Theatre, Towson University in Baltimore on Oct. 18 and 20, 2024 followed by two showcases on Oct. 25 and 27 at The Grand in Wilmington, Delaware. Taking on the role of Rodolfo will be Edward Graves. Daniel Rich {…}
(photo courtesy of Utah Opera) Tulsa Opera has announced a cast change for its upcoming Act two showcase of “Tosca” as part of the President’s Council Dinner Concert. The company revealed that Leah Crocetto has withdrawn from the performance. In her stead, audiences will experience the talents of Kara Shay Thomson on Oct. 8, 2024 at 6 p.m. Thomson has {…}
Chelsea Opera Group has announced its 2024-25 season. First up is a Puccini Centenary Concert featuring “Le villi,” “Capriccio Sinfonico,” and “Messa di Gloria.” The concert features Seljan Fermor-Hesketh, Charne Rochford, and Stephen Gass. Peter Robinson conducts. Performance Date: Nov. 2, 2024 Paul Wingfield conducts a concert performance of Lalo’s “Le Roy d’Ys.” Performance Date: March 30, 2025 Then comes a concert {…}
Toledo Opera and Toledo Spirits are teaming up for “Get into the Spirit of Opera” on Oct. 3, 2024. The showcase will feature members of the upcoming “Tosca” cast as they serenade audience members at The Toledo Spirits Company on North Summit Street. There will also be a drawing for two tickets to the upcoming “Tosca” performance on Oct. 18, {…}
(Credits: Hermann und Clärchen Baus) Giacomo Puccini’s “Tosca,” adapted from a play by Victorien Sardou, was famously criticized by American musicologist Joseph Kerman, who dismissed it as a “shabby little shocker” and predicted its swift decline from the operatic canon. Despite this, “Tosca” endures as a favorite among audiences, thanks to Puccini’s brilliant music and masterful orchestration that elevate it {…}