The Teatro alla Scala has announced two cast changes for its Jan. 21, 2020 performance of Gounod’s “Roméo et Juliette.” The company announced that due to indisposition Damrau will not perform. As a result, Vannina Santoni will takeover the title role. La Scala also announced that Marina Viotti, who is performing Stephano, will not take part in the performance and {…}
(Credit: Cory Weaver / San Francisco Opera) The San Francisco Opera opened its 97th season with Gounod’s “Romeo and Juliette,” reminding us that music is the food of love and that it spills over all the battles we fight and brings them down. Even though the production was pleasant but not perfect, the evening’s performance brought us into a harmony that {…}
(Credit: Merri Cyr) The San Francisco Opera is set to open its 97th season with Gounod’s “Roméo et Juliette.” The season, which opens on Sept. 6 with two season-opening benefit events (Opera Ball 2019: The Capulets’ Masked Ball and BRAVO! CLUB’s Opening Night Gala), will showcase French-Canadian conductor Yves Abel in a new production of Gounod’s work by Jean-Louis Grinda. In {…}
(Credit: Merri Cyer) The San Francisco Opera will produce a live simulcast of “Roméo et Juliette” at Oracle Park as part of it Opera at the Ballpark series. The event, which is set for Sept. 21, 2019, will be the result of a partnership with the San Francisco Giants baseball team. The production is set to showcase superstar soprano Nadine {…}
(Photos: Lisa Tomasetti) Gounod is one of the core composers of the French repertory. Born on June 17, 1818, two of his operas remain major staples of the repertory. But Gounod composed more than just “Faust” and “Roméo et Juliette.” How well do you know that repertory? This quiz will test your knowledge of Gounod’s entire operatic output.
The Metropolitan Opera has announced its 2019 Summer Encores series which will feature four total operas over the years. First up will be “Roméo et Juliette” which features Diana Damrau and Vittorio Grigolo in the title roles. This was transmitted live on Jan. 21, 2017, but this summer will appear in the U.S. on June 19, 2019 and in Canada {…}
Charles Gounod is one of the great composers of French opera. Born on June 17, 1818, in Paris, he learned the piano with his mother, a pianist, from a young age. He then entered the Paris Conservatoire and won a prize for his cantata “Fernand” in 1839. Despite attempts of becoming a priest, he resumed composition, his first opera “Sapho” premiering {…}
There aren’t any settings of Shakespeare’s famous “Romeo and Juliet” in the opera world more popular than Gounod’s. Part of the reason for that is the long-running success of Gounod’s “Roméo et Juliette,” which premiered on April 27, 2018. The opera in five acts is a fixture in the operatic canon, famous for its extensive love duets for both lead {…}
On Feb. 27, 2018, “Romeo et Juliette” will be broadcast in movie theaters from the Gran Theatre Liceu. The opera will star Saimir Pirgu and Aida Garifullina as the star-crossed lovers and will be shown live in Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Netherlands, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK. In a press release, Pirgu noted, {…}
It’s Valentine’s Day, the day to cherish a significant other. Last year we took a cynical look at the holiday, but not this year. Opera is rife with love, almost every single plot in every single work has some communion of two persons in that blissful word. In fact, love in opera has incited just as many battles and tension {…}
The Utah Opera announced its 2018-19 season featuring two new productions by the company’s in-house Production Studios. The season opens on Oct. 13, 2018, with Gounod’s “Roméo et Juliette” with tenor Joshua Dennis as Roméo and soprano Anya Matanovič, who will star as Juliette. Robert Tweten conducts the production with scenery designed by Eric Fielding and costumes by Susan Memmott Allred. Performance Dates: Oct. {…}