It seems like Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre are finally ready for changes. This September, the Artistic Director position was taken by Sesto Quatrini, the Italian conductor who once said he had general ambitions to change the approach to opera in Italy. Interestingly, in Lithuania he faces far more serious and specific changes that need to be done. Maestro Quatrini’s plans sound {…}
Warner Classics has announced that it will now be distributing all of the recordings made by Opera Rara. Per a press release, the company announced that its first such release will be a new recording of Rossini’s “Semiramide.” “Warner Classics is proud to announce complete distribution of all of Opera Rara’s new recordings, beginning with a complete studio recording of {…}
Rossini’s final opera is arguably his finest. “Guillaume Tell,” which had its world premiere on August 3, 1829, has never been his most popular. But in the work, the great composer took all the dramatic ideas he had developed throughout his career and encapsulated them into a cohesive and potent opera. The work has found popularity in the 21st century, {…}
Rossini’s “Guillaume Tell” is quite a unique case. Premiering on August 3, 1829, the opera is considered by many to contain some of Rossini’s greatest dramatic genius. And yet the opera has never quite held a proper place in the operatic canon the way that his “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” or even “La Cenerentola” have. And yet, in some ways, {…}
The 14th Annual Festival of the Aegean, founded in 2005 by Greek-American Conductor/Producer/Artistic Director Peter Tiboris and popularly dubbed “The Salzburg of the Aegean,” has opened on Greece’s Island of Syros. This year, the festival will celebrate Rossini on the 150th anniversary of his death performing “La Cenerentola” and the “Stabat Mater.” Rossini’s “La Cenerentola” is set to star soprano {…}
The Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice is entering its 9th season and has announced a lineup of performances centered on precisely that, to take place from August 3 to 5, 2018. The festival itself will be held in Phoenicia, NY, in a location within the Catskills which features seven different venues located near one another. The featured event is {…}
The Portland Opera has announced a plethora of free, family events for the summer of 2018. The events include a Cinderella Sing-a-Long celebration on July 18, 2018. Those that attend will also receive complimentary ice cream. The event takes place at Director Park. On July 25, 2018, the company will offer a live outdoor simulcast of Rossini’s “La Cenerentola” outside {…}
The Pacific Opera Project will be bringing their final performance of Rossini’s “La Gazzetta” to viewers around the world via livestream on July 7, 2018 One of Rossini’s lesser-known operas, “La Gazzetta” follows a Neapolitan father who takes out an advertisement for his daughter, in the hopes that he can find her a worthy, or at least wealthy, suitor. As {…}
“Opera Meets Film” is a feature dedicated to exploring the way that opera has been employed in cinema. We will select a section or a film in its entirety, highlighting the impact that utilizing the operatic form or sections from an opera can alter our perception of a film that we are viewing. This week’s installment is Stanley Kubrick’s legendary {…}
Vicenza’s Teatro Olimpico, designed by Palladio in 1580, is Europe’s oldest indoor theater. It is based on Vitruvius’s description of the theatres of Ancient Rome, and therefore, Classical in style. It has an elliptical, steeply-raked seating space as found in Ancient Greek and Roman open-air theatres, which provides for unrestricted views of the stage. Its auditorium is decorated by plaster {…}
Salzburg’s Whitsun Festival hosted a Gala on Monday evening, May 21, 2018. Conducted by Daniel Barenboim and the Staatskapelle, Berlin, it was a splendid event. Cecilia Bartoli and Jonas Kaufmann did the vocal honors after Rolando Villazón canceled for health reasons. Bartoli and Barenboim included additional music to supplement the absent singer, and Jonas Kaufmann sang solo from the Wesendonck {…}