“Siegfried” may be the most underappreciated among the operas of Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle. In many ways, it advances the plot minimally compared to the others and has the feature of being musically distinct within itself because Wagner composed its third and final act 12 years after the first two. Yet crucially, it serves to unite the love duo of {…}
Mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča, who recently opened the Metropolitan Opera’s 2018-19 season with her role in Saint-Saens’ “Samson and Delilah” took to Carnegie Hall with pianist Kevin Murphy for an evening of lieder, songs, and arias close to her heart and on the pulse of her prominent artistic career. Featuring the works of Schumann, Wagner, Ravel, and more, the program of {…}
Richard Wagner might just be the greatest composer in opera history. That, of course, depends on how you view the likes of Mozart and Verdi. But Wagner is easily in the top three in any discussion, his works revolutionizing the entire artform. Born on May 22, 1813, Wagner lived a tumultuous life created by his own very unstable personality. But {…}
For many Richard Wagner is the greatest composer in the history of opera. The German master, born on May 22, 1813, revolutionized not only how opera was created, but he also changed the direction of musical composition, among other things. Everyone knows him for the 10 operas that he wrote, starting with “Die Fliegende Holländer” and concluding with “Parsifal,” though {…}
Few will ever overlook Verdi’s “Nabucco.” While the venerable composer undoubtedly surpassed his third opera, “Nabucco,” based on the biblical story, put the composer on the map in a way in a number of ways. It was his first breakthrough, coming at a time when the then 28-year-old was still reeling from the death of his entire nuclear family and {…}