The Richard Tucker Music Foundation has announced its annual gala, which is set to take place on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023 at the Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall. While the gala usually honors a winner every year, this event will spotlight such past winners and grant recipients as Ben Bliss, Stephen Costello, Michael Fabiano, Susan Graham, Quinn {…}
Credit: Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera has announced the schedule for its Summer HD Festival. Ten free opera screenings will be projected on the façade of the opera house in Lincoln Center Plaza on Aug. 26-Sept. 4. First up is a special presentation of the film “Moonstruck,” (1987) starring Academy Award-winner Cher, with costars Nicolas Cage, Olympia Dukakis, Danny Aiello, {…}
Puccini’s “La Bohème” returns to the Met with Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducting the work for the first time at the company. The opera which is set to open on April 21 will be performed 14-performance with two casts. Soprano Eleonora Buratto, who reprises her role from last season as the tragic heroine Mimì, and tenor Stephen Costello Rodolfo, lead the first cast. {…}
The Canadian Opera Company is set to present Verdi’s “Macbeth” in a new production Sir. David McVicar. The production, which will star Quinn Kelsey in the title role and Sondra Radvanovsky as Lady Macbeth, will be performed at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts between April 28 and May 20, 2023. Kelsey will make his role debut as {…}
Opera Philadelphia has announced its 2023-24 season. Dubbed Festival 023, the company will bring music to venues around the city. The following productions are included in the Festival. The world premiere of composer Rene Orth and librettist Hannah Moscovitch’s “Ten Days in a Madhouse,” starring Kiera Duffy, Will Liverman, and Raehann Bryce-Davis. Joanna Settle directs, and Daniela Candillari conducts. The work {…}
(Credit: Ken Howard / Met Opera) Thirty-four years ago, Sonja Frisell’s monumental “Aida” production premiered at the Met to tremendous success. Not only did it become one of the company’s most beloved productions due to its elegant and epic sets that recreated Egyptian architecture. The production had horses, large crowds of people, and extravagant costumes. It was what operagoers wanted {…}
The Metropolitan Opera will reprise Verdi’s “Aida” in a staging by Sonja Frisell, which will mark the last time the production will be seen on the Met stage. The production, which premiered in 1988, has been performed over 240 times and features production designer Gianni Quaranta’s sets. The revival will be performed 15 times from Dec. 3, 2022 through April {…}
(Credit: Curtis Brown) In a recent interview with OperaWire, composer Lori Laitman noted that Verdi’s “Rigoletto” was among her favorite operas. “Verdi’s ‘Rigoletto’ is one of my favorites and the use of music to reveal the horrific fact that the Duke is still alive is so chilling,” she noted. Taking in the work on Monday, Nov. 14, 2022 for the {…}
(Credit: Marty Sohl / Metropolitan Opera) Update: Quinn Kelsey has provided a statement regarding his withdrawal from the Paris Opera productions. He said, “I have had to cancel my contracts this season at the Opéra National de Paris in order to welcome the arrival of my daughter, scheduled to ‘make her debut’ in February 2023. I love my work, but my {…}
The Metropolitan Opera is set to revive Vedi’s “Rigoletto” for 14 performances. The opera, which is set to run between Nov. 10 and Dec. 29, will showcase Benjamin Bernheim in his highly anticipated company debut as Duke. He will share the run with Stephen Costello. Baritone Quinn Kelsey and soprano Rosa Feola will reprise their roles of Rigoletto and Gilda {…}
(Credit: Evan Zimmerman) Met audiences love “La Bohème.” The company has staged the opera 1,356 times over the past 122 years and has presented the Zeffirelli production for the last 40. The years-long affair with Puccini’s story of Parisian bohemians centers on one of the most potent motivating forces in our lives: love, and we like to see romance play {…}