(Photo: Mihaela Bodlovic) I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t again mention this year that opera should always be more about the music and the singing than the staging. Alas, I find myself having to break that promise after sitting through the revival of Richard Jones’s 2022 production of “Samson et Dalila” at the Royal Ballet and Opera. {…}
Welcome back for this week’s look at the latest CD and DVD releases in the opera world. This week we get a Bel Canto album from a Metropolitan Opera musician, an Italian album by a leading tenor, a rare opera and a a complete performance of one of the great mezzos of our time. Here is a look! Bel Canto: {…}
This week the Seattle Opera will present Camille Saint-Saens’ “Samson et Dalila” for the first time since 1965. The opera, which will be presented in concert performance, will see two of the brightest in the opera world making debuts. Korean tenor Yonghoon Lee is one of the stars that will take on the title role of Samson. Lee will not {…}
On January 20, 2023, Seattle Opera will present Saint-Saens’ “Samson and Delilah” for the first time since 1965. This concert staging will feature acclaimed artists tenor Yonghoon Lee and mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges in the title roles, with both making their company debuts. Seattle Symphony Conductor Emeritus Ludovic Morlot leads a cast including Greer Grimsley as the High Priest of Dagon, {…}
(© 2022 ROH. Photograph by Clive Barda) Camille Saint–Saëns’ “Samson et Dalila” received its first new production – indeed first performance – at the Royal Opera House in nearly 20 years, replacing Elijah Moshinsky’s, which had a vintage of 1981 (before this reviewer was even born). It’s a tricky work to get right – traditionalist stagings feel uncomfortably Orientalist, sometimes {…}
This week, the Royal Opera House opens a new production of “Samson et Dalila” led by the company’s music and starring one of the great mezzo’s of our time. But perhaps what makes this production all the more exciting is the young tenor SeokJong Baek, who will make his house debut. The South Korean tenor, who began as a baritone, {…}
The Royal Opera House has announced a cast change for its upcoming production of “Samson et Dalila.” The company noted that SeokJong Baek will take over the role of Samson from Nicky Spence, who has withdrawn. Per an official press statement, Spence was still recovering from an injury earlier this year and was unable to take on the rigors that {…}
(Credit: Achim Graf) The Staatsoper Unter den Linden has announced that mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča will not be appearing in the title role of Camille Saint-Saëns’ opera “Samson et Dalila” for the entire run ending Dec. 19, 2021. The mezzo-soprano already missed the opening night performance on Dec. 5 and was replaced by mezzo-soprano Anna Lapkovskaja. Lapkovskaja will now take over {…}
(Credit: Achim Graf) The Staatsoper Unter den Linden has announced that mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča will not be appearing in the title role of Camille Saint-Saëns’ opera “Samson et Dalila” on Dec. 5, 2021. As a result, mezzo-soprano Anna Lapkovskaja will take over the role. The mezzo joins a cast that includes Michael Volle, Jongmin Park, Paul Gay, Magnus Dietrich, Benjamin {…}
(Credits: Holger Hage / David Jerusalem / Carsten Sander) The Staatsoper Unter den Linden will present Camille Saint-Saëns’ and Ferdinand Lemaire’s “Samson et Dalila” in December 2021. Mezzo-soprano superstar Elīna Garanča and famed Austrian heldentenor Andreas Schager star in the title roles, while baritone Michael Volle appears as Le Grand-Prêtre de Dagon. The cast is rounded out by Jongmin Park, {…}
(Credits: Dario Acosta / © Gregor Hohenberg / Sony Classical / Angela Gheorghiu official website / Michael Cooper / Kasskara/DG / Chris Singer) The Royal Opera House Covent Garden has announced full details of its exciting 2021-22 season, which will star some of the world’s greatest performers. The Royal Opera House Live Cinema Season and digital program will be announced {…}