The festival season is coming to an end with many performances and productions on their last weekends. That said, the schedule around the world is still slated to feature a ton of major opera stars. Austria The Salzburg Festival is in full swing with Rolando Villazón and Cecilia Bartoli performing on Friday in “Ariodante” and Anna Netrebko and Francesco Meli {…}
Rolando Villazon has launched a new podcast entitled “Les jongleries de Rolando Villazón!” on Saturday, August 5 on France Musique. The podcast will center around a theme of Villazon’s choice as he shares some of his favorite memories and anecdotes from his and other musicians’ experiences. The four-episode podcast will launch every Saturday this month and you can listen to it here. {…}
The Operalia Competition is just days away and in anticipation of the famed event, we will take a look back down memory lane at the opera singers who became stars after big performances at the competition. For this week’s installment, we will look at the early years of the competition and the 90s. Here are the winners of that decade {…}
Deutsche Grammophon has announced Rolando Villazón’s new album. The CD entitled “Duets” will include Ildar Abdrazakov with Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conducting the Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain. “Duets” will include French and Italian opera duets for tenor and bass/baritone and is set for release in September. It marks the singers’ first album together and marks Abdrazakov’s debut on the yellow label. It also {…}
Rolando Villazon has been named the artistic director of the Mozarteum Foundation’s Mozart Week. The foundation announced that Villazon will begin his position this year as he will plan programs dedicated to Mozart in what the festival calls Mozart Week. The first Mozart Week that will be entirely programmed by Villazón takes place in 2019 and his contract is expected {…}
The Berlin Staatsoper has announced its 2017-18 season with a lineup of superstars. New Productions The opera with a new production of Schumann’s oratorio “Szenen aus Goethes Faust” directed by Jürgen Flimm. Daniel Barenboim conducts the production which is set to star Roman Trekel and Rene Pape. The company will then present the chamber opera “Rivale” followed by the kinderoper “Der Unglaubliche {…}
Rolando Villazon has canceled his upcoming performances at the Vienna State Opera of Donizetti’s “L’Elisir d’Amore.” The Vienna State Opera announced the news on Friday. Villazon cited illness and will be replaced by Jinxu Xiahou. The tenor was scheduled for performances on Jun 22, 25 and 28, 2017. It marks the third high-profile cancellation for the tenor in the past {…}
There have been two major changes to the Metropolitan Opera’s gala this Sunday. The big news is the cancellation of Rolando Villazón from the 50th Anniversary Gala. The Mexican tenor’s name, which was featured prominently on the list of artists to perform at the big event, is no longer there. The cancellation is not surprising considering that Villazón recently canceled {…}
Rolando Villazón is one of the most admired singers in the opera world for his sheer abandon on stage and his detailed characterizations. He has created some very memorable performances and has recorded a number of great albums. However, this week he steps offstage and goes back to the directing seat for Donizetti’s “Don Pasquale.” Villazón directed his first opera in {…}
Rolando Villazón has canceled his upcoming performances of Donizetti’s “L’Elisir D’Amore.” The Royal Opera House announced that tenor has to withdraw due to medical reasons. As a result, Armenian tenor Liparit Avetisyan will replace him. Avetisvan made his Royal Opera debut in the 2016-17 Season as Alfredo Germont in “La Traviata.” Recent appearances also include Alfredo Germont and Don José in Bizet’s “Carmen” {…}
The Vienna State Opera has announced its 2017-18 season with six new productions and 48 revivals. Given the sheer size of the schedule, you might expect the company to feature opera’s greatest stars. You would be absolutely right. As always the company will feature the biggest stars in the world including Anna Netrebko in her second run of performances of {…}