Luciano Pavarotti may have enjoyed the moniker “King of the High ‘Cs,” but the TRUE high “C” king of the 21st Century, having flitted effortlessly through a career filled with an abundance of top notes, finds himself the star of this Richard Jones revival, a production now in its fourth year. I WAS to have reviewed Juan Diego Flórez’s debut {…}
The Royal Opera House announced it will ban an audience member who booed during the opening night of “Alcina.” The company released a statement on social media stating, “Unfortunately, the opening night of ‘Alcina’ featured an audience member who disrupted the show and the excellent performance by young singer Malakai M Bayoh. We are appalled that a member of the {…}
The Royal Opera has released a statement regarding the Arts Council England funding decisions. The company, which will lose 10% of its funding said, “we are grateful to Arts Council England (ACE) for their continued financial support at such a critical time for the UK’s theatre industry and the wider economy. We support the wish to invest in the arts {…}
The Royal Opera House has appointed new trustees to its Board. The appointees include Vanessa Kingori MBE, Janis Susskind OBE, Lisa Burger CBE, Michael Ward, and Sir Alex Younger. “I am thrilled to see these new trustees join the Board, all of whom bring a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective as we meet the many challenges and opportunities {…}
The Royal Opera House has named Jakub Hrůša as its new Music Director. The company said that Hrůša will assume the position of Music Director Designate with immediate effect and will begin his tenure as Music Director in September 2025. In a statement, the conductor said, “I have been privileged to work on two wonderful Royal Opera House productions as {…}
Puccini’s “La Bohème” is headed to the silver screen on Oct. 20, 2022 courtesy of the Royal Opera House’s upcoming production. Audiences will see Richard Jones’ production with a cast starring Ailyn Pérez, Juan Diego Flórez, Andrey Zhilikhovsky, Dnaielle De Niese, Michael Mofidian, and Ross Ramgolbin. Kevin John Edusei conducts the production. There will be an encore presentation on Oct. {…}
The Royal Opera has announced a partnership with Balenciaga. The House has selected specific pieces from its Fall 2022 and Winter 2022 collections for the Last Days costumes. Based on Gus Van Sant’s 2005 film, “Last Days” opens in the Linbury Theatre on Oct. 7, 2022 and will bring a contemporary existentialist myth to the opera stage. The new work {…}
The Royal Opera House will present Robert Carsen’s new production of Verdi’s “Aida” live in cinemas on Oct. 12. The live broadcast from Covent Garden will reach over 1,000 cinemas in 34 countries around the world. Carsen’s large-scale production of Verdi’s political drama is set within a modern totalitarian government and explores public duty versus private passions. He is joined {…}
The Royal Opera House has launched a new streaming platform. The platform features 45 productions as well as 85 behind-the-scenes featurettes. Audiences can stream for 9.99 pounds per month and 99 pounds per year. Some titles will be available in UHD and Dolby Atmos. Among the launch titles are Frederick Ashton’s “La Fille mal gardée,” Christopher Wheeldon’s “The Winter’s Tale,” {…}
Photo credit: ROH Salome © Tristram Kenton David McVicar’s production of Richard Strauss’ “Salome”, designed by Es Devlin, was first seen in 2008, and is receiving its fourth revival at Covent Garden with Bárbara Lluch at the helm. It opened the night following the death of Queen Elizabeth II – “Don Giovanni” the night before was cancelled in the circumstances {…}
The Royal Opera House has canceled the Sept. 19 performance of “Don Giovanni” due to Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral. The company said that it will close the opera house “to mark the State funeral of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.” It is the second performance the company cancels after the Queen’s passing. On Sept. 8, the company also canceled {…}