The Royal Ballet and Opera has announced a cast change for its March 13 performance of “Il Trovatore.” The company said that Marina Rebeka will sing the role of Leonora replacing Rachel Willis- Sørensen, who is ill. Rebeka took to her social media and said, “Dear friends, I am so happy to be back in London. Tomorrow I will be {…}
(Photo: Camilla Greenwell/Royal Opera House) Trailing draggily behind Puccini’s rue and jubilance, this season’s Royal Opera House revival of the tearful “La bohème” appears afraid of the work’s earnestness. Decked out in semi-mockeries of 1830s Paris, Richard Jones’ 2017 production favors episodes of bawdiness at the expense of the Bohemian; endangering its players’ vocal liberties. Perhaps as the result of {…}
(Credit: Julian Hargreaves) The Royal Opera House Covent Garden has announced that superstar soprano Anna Netrebko has withdrawn from the performances of Verdi’s “Nabucco” between Jan. 14 – 23, 2022, due to ongoing travel restrictions across Europe. As a result, Liudmyla Monastyrska will take over the role of Abigaille. Monastyrska joins a cast that includes Alexander Vinogradov as Zaccaria, Vasilisa {…}
FEDORA has announced the launch of the nominee phase for its 2021 prizes. Jury nominees in the opera category belong to Kaija Saariaho and Sofi Oksanen’s “Innocence” in a co-production by Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Dutch National Opera, Finnish National Opera & Ballet, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, and San Francisco Opera; Jamie Man and Peter Stamm’s “Zelle, wenn es dunkel wird” {…}
(Credit: Royal Opera House official website) The Royal Opera House Covent Garden has announced that it will reopen for live audiences on May 17, 2021. For the grand reopening, the Royal Opera House is planning to stage Mozart’s opera “La Clemenza di Tito” in a new production directed by Richard Jones. Mark Wigglesworth will conduct. The opera house also announced {…}
(Credit; Javier del Real) Opéra de Monte-Carlo has announced the cancelation of a previously scheduled recital featuring famed British bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel due to the COVID-19 travel restrictions. The recital, which was set to take place on Feb. 24 2021, would have featured works by Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Benjamin Britten, Marcel Grandjany, Claude Debussy, and Roger Quilter. Per {…}
(Credit: Musacchio & Ianniello licensed to EMI Classics) The Royal Opera House Covent Garden has announced that it will stream a specially recorded film which will feature the opera house’s young artists and Music Director Sir Antonio Pappano. The film will be broadcast on Feb. 19 at 7 p.m. GMT. “Tony and the Young Artists” brings together Pappano and members {…}
(Credit: Presto Music website) Bulgarian soprano superstar Sonya Yoncheva will release her new album “Rebirth” on March 12, 2021. The album, which will be released by Sony Classical, will spotlight works by Claudio Monteverdi, Francesco Cavalli, Barbara Strozzi, John Dowland, Tomás de Torrejón y Velasco Sánchez, and Alessandro Stradella, among others. The album will also include the popular Bulgarian folk {…}
(Credit: © Pia Clodi) American tenor Charles Castronovo has been hospitalized after contracting COVID-19. Castronovo’s wife, soprano Ekaterina Siurina posted on social media that Castronovo has been sick for over two and a half weeks. “Charlie has been in the hospital in Vienna with coronavirus for a week now, but he’s getting better, we can’t put into words our experiences, {…}
(Credit: Uwe Arens) The celebrated British baritone Sir Simon Keenlyside will not be appearing for the concert at the Teatro alla Scala on Feb. 6, 2021. It was originally planned for Sir Simon Keenlyside to perform alongside soprano Chen Reiss with Maestro Zubin Mehta conducting. The Teatro alla Scala did not provide a reason for the famed baritone’s withdrawal. Keenlyside {…}
(Credits: Simon Fowler / Frances Marshall / © Matthias Baus) Staatsoper Hamburg has announced that it will live stream its premiere of Massenet’s opera “Manon” on Jan. 24, 2021. Due to the German government COVID-19 regulations, the production will be performed without a live public. The opera will star Ioan Hotea as Chevalier Des Grieux, as Lescaut, Dimitry Ivashchenko as {…}