(Credit: Pictures courtesy of the Lyric Opera of Chicago) The Lyric Opera of Chicago’s has announced its 2020-21 season celebrating its 66th season. The season will include three Lyric premieres, two Lyric Original productions, nine operas, three concert events and one musical. Main Stage The first production of the season will be the famed double bill of Mascagni’s “Cavalleria Rusticana” {…}
The International Opera Awards have announced the nominees for its 2020 Awards. The annual event, which celebrates achievement in opera around the globe over the 2019 calendar year, recognizes excellence in a wide range of categories that cover performance, design and direction, as well as education and outreach. This year, two opera companies topped the 2020 nominees with three a {…}
(Credit: Claire McAdams / Vanessa Preziose) Most people recognize that there is a major world premiere taking place this weekend. But the reality is that there are two. The weekend is also full of appetizing offerings and this weekend’s selections come down to a mix of classics with star casts as well as a Spanish-language masterpiece that undeniably deserves greater {…}
On Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020, the Houston Grand Opera will present “Giving Voice,” a concert presented by tenor Lawrence Brownlee. The performance will be live streamed via YouTube and is set to feature J’Nai Bridges, Nicole Heaston, Reginald Smith Jr., and Russell Thomas. Kevin Miller will be at the piano. The concert was developed by Brownlee in association with the {…}
The Houston Grand Opera has announced its 2020-21 season featuring a number of established as well as rising stars. Here is a detailed look at the upcoming productions: The season opens with Bizet’s “Carmen” with a cast that includes Isabel Leonard and Carolyn Sproule alternating in the role of Carmen, Andrea Caré and Frederick Ballentine alternating as Don José, Anita {…}
October is at an end and opera season is in full force. This weekend features a plethora of fascinating options across the country, making it truly challenging to single out a few specific performances. And despite the high quality all around, we zeroed in on a few showcases that we feel really rise to the top. Here are our top {…}
The Washington National Opera is set to open the 2019-20 season with Verdi’s “Otello.” The season will open with Russell Thomas in the title role, a work he recently performed to great acclaimed at the Canadian Opera Company. He is joined by Leah Crocetto in the role of Desdemona. They both reunite after an acclaimed “Don Carlo” which OperaWire called, {…}
This weekend a number of classics will be presented in new productions and with some of the top stars. Here are the top showcases that we recommend. I Puritani – Opéra de Paris, France Elsa Dreisig makes her role debut as Elvira alongside a remarkable cast that includes Javier Camarena, Nicolas Testé, and Igor Golovatenko. Riccardo Frizza conducts Laurent Pelly’s {…}
The 2019-20 season is about to start with numerous new productions, revivals and world premieres. Like we did with the International houses, OperaWire has selected the 10 Must-See productions that you cannot miss this fall at the North American companies. 10. Frida – Atlanta Opera, Georgia Jorge Parodi conducts the popular work by Robert Xavier Rodriguez with Catalina Cuervo, who brings {…}
The weekend is here and there are five star-studded operas that we think you cannot miss. Here is a look at our recommendations. Adriana Lecouvreur – Salzburg Festival, Austria Anna Netrebko brings her signature role in Cilea’s masterpiece to Salzburg for the first time with Anita Rachvelishvili. When the two divas performed the opera at the Metropolitan Opera, OperaWire noted {…}
Even before the curtain rose on this Los Angeles Opera production of Mozart’s “La Clemenza di Tito” which I saw on March 7th, 2019, I was excited by what I had read in the program booklet. LA Opera Music Director James Conlon’s article, “Clemency, Forgiveness and Love” with its emphasis on Titus’s closing message that “I know everything, absolve everyone {…}
