Janáček’s final opera, “From the House of the Dead (Z mrtvého domu),” is among the operatic canon’s most insular works. Set in a Siberian prison camp, the piece is uncharacteristic as an opera from several perspectives: it features just a single female voice – although originally a mezzo sang the tenor role; its setting is confined to the lugubrious complexion {…}
The Royal Opera House has announced a memorial concert for Dmitri Hvorostovsky. The concert will see artists of The Royal Opera and friends celebrate the achievements of the great Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky, who died in November 2017. The Russian baritone was one of the most remarkable and beloved artists of our time and was well-known at the Royal Opera {…}
On March 6, 2018, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden will showcase its new production of Bizet’s “Carmen.” The production, directed by Barrie Kosky, stars mezzo Anna Goryachova, Francesco Meli, Kostas Smoriginas, Kristina Mkhitaryan, David Soar, Jacquelyn Stucker, Aigul Akhmesthina, Pierre Doyen, Jean-Paul Fouchécourt, and Gyula Nagy under the musical direction of Jakub Hrůša. The production has been getting mixed {…}
The Royal Opera House will present Puccini’s “Tosca” live in cinemas on Feb. 7, 2018. The performance will be broadcast around the world and stars Adrianne Pieczonka in the title role, Joseph Calleja as Mario Cavaradossi, and Gerald Finley as the villainous Scarpia. Regarding the showcase, OperaWire praised the production by Jonathan Kent noting, “It’s humorous to think that many {…}
The Royal Opera House has announced a cast change for its production of “Tosca.” The company announced that due to scheduling changes, the role of Mario Cavaradossi will be sung by Italian tenor Massimo Giordano on Feb. 22 and by Italian tenor Riccardo Massi on March 3. Giordano made his Royal Opera debut in 2003 as Fenton in “Falstaff” and has {…}
There are instances in which it’s difficult for opera-lovers to remember “Tosca” is no comedy. From that perspective it is easy to recall the legend of a certain prima donna who once bounced back from the trampoline that was supposed to break her fall as Tosca killed herself. Floria Tosca is not one of opera’s most pitiable characters. She is {…}
London is a chilly place. Yet on this particularly evening I leave my coat in the hotel and zip to Covent Garden. No room nor time for extra layers, since attending a performance in the Royal Opera House is a cluttered affair. The long lines for cloakrooms stifle with imperial colognes, and the tight, even if velvet, chairs make Ryanair {…}
Lucy Crowe has withdrawn from tonight’s performance of “Rigoletto.” The Royal Opera House announced that due to illness Crowe would not sing the Jan. 4 performance. As a result, Spanish soprano Sabina Puértolas will take over. Puértolas made her Royal Opera debut in 2013 as Lisette in “La rondine” and has since returned to sing Despina in “Così fan tutte.” She recently {…}
There was a big scare at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017, but it all ended happily for all involved. According to the Evening Standard, hundreds of audience members were evacuated from the famed opera house when a suspicious package was found. Right after the last act of “Rigoletto,” the theater ordered audience members {…}
In the beginning of the 20th-century there was a snootiness about verismo opera. All of its propagators – Puccini, Giordano, Mascagni, among others – were accused of simplifying opera by eliminating many of its challenges. Those long showy lines of coloratura were long gone. In place of it, the singers began interspersing notes and passages with great long sighs or {…}
“Bleakness” would be best used to describe the ambience of this by now well known Royal Opera House revival: David McVicar’s “Rigoletto”. Originally mounted in 2001, it was first publicized as an audacious, controversial exposé of sixteenth-century Mantuan aristocracy; the kind of risky spectacle of which Verdi – plagued chronically by problems with his censors – could have only dreamed. {…}