(Photo: Cory Weaver) Some operas are able to provide an opulent reminder of just why opera exists and how it can conquer hearts and minds. Giacomo Puccini’s “La Bohème” is at the top of that list. Even 130 years after its debut, this comedic tragedy, set in the Latin Quarter of Paris, remains the most popular and most frequently produced {…}
The Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra is set to present a concert of opera selections starring Maria Brea and Dane Suarez on June 15, 2025 at the Brooklyn Museum. The program, which will be conducted by Felipe Tristan, features music by Verdi, Leoncavallo, Puccini, and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4. “I’m thrilled to work with two fantastic artists for this concert with the {…}
(Photos: Evan Zimmerman / Met Opera) The Metropolitan Opera’s spring cast for Franco Zeffirelli’s production of Puccini’s “La Bohème” left a lasting impression through this most iconic work. Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer Music Director of Met Opera, made the night fun and engaging for audience members of all ages and backgrounds, along with a stellar cast of voices including {…}
Mission Opera will present “Tosca” at the Canyon high School Performing Arts Center in Santa Clarita, CA. The Puccini classic is set to take the stage on June 13 -15 with two casts, including one featuring indigenous singers in the three lead roles. Kirsten C. Kunkle, a Muscogee citizen, will make her role debut as Floria Tosca, joined by Hugo {…}
Composer and Florida Grand Opera conductor Felix Jarrar will lead a public concert reading of Puccini’s “La Bohème” on Monday, May 26, 2025 at New York City’s The Church of the Village. The opera will star Maria Brea as Mimì with Melanie Spector as Musetta. Eric Botto will be Rodolfo, and Joseph Canuto Leon will be Marcello, Evan Fleming will {…}
Malmö Opera will present “La Bohème” in a unique production set in 1960s New York City. The opera, which opens on March 15, 2025, will run through June 1, 2025, with the May 4 performance set to be live streamed world wide. The production is directed by Rodula Gaitanou and features Konu Kim and Yana Kleyn as the star-crossed lovers. {…}
(Photo: Puccini’s most beloved masterpiece is a feast at any time of the year, but as a Christmas treat, promises to deliver many gifts. Alas, like ALL gifts, some are more desirable than others; some special, some expected and some unwanted. As is the case with this fifth revival of Richard Jones’s classic 2017 production, where some presents are more {…}
The Gran Teatre del Liceu has announced a cast change for the Dec. 16 performance of “Madama Butterfly.” The company announced via social media that Sonya Yoncheva has withdrawn from the showcase due to illness. She will be replaced by Ailyn Pérez, who sang the performance on Dec. 15, 2024. The two sopranos have been alternating the title role alongside {…}
(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 {…}