The Canadian Opera Company has announced a cast change for its production of “Rigoletto.” The company said, “Soprano Andrea Carroll has withdrawn from the COC’s upcoming production of Rigoletto. The COC welcomes sopranos Sarah Dufresne and Andriana Chuchman to share the role of Gilda for the duration of the performance run.” Dufresne will perform on Jan. 24, 28, and Feb. {…}
The Tiroler Festspiele Erl has announced its 2025-26 season. Autumn Season Holger Falk will perform alongside Herbert Schuch, Vivi Vassileva, and Musicbanda Franui. Performance Date: Oct. 2, 2025 Julian Prégardien, Herbert Schuch, and Musicbanda Franui will perform in concert. Performance Date: Oct. 3, 2025 Winter Season Johann Sebastian Bach’s Weihnachtsoratorium will be performed by Elisabeth Breuer, Ulrike Malotta, Gideon Poppe, {…}
The Vancouver Opera has announced its 2025-26 season featuring three productions. In a statement, Tom Wright, Vancouver Opera General Director said, “For our 66th season, we’re bringing operas by the art form’s greatest composers to the Queen Elizabeth Theatre stage. These timeless works run the gamut—in some cases the gauntlet—of emotions, while exploring social norms and the consequences of personal choice. {…}
(Photo: Mark Allan) Puccini called his work “La Rondine” a “commedia lirica,” effectively COMIC opera, but I consider it a TRAGEDY that this work isn’t performed more in the opera house. “La Rondine” comprises some of the most exquisite, emotive music the maestro ever penned. Alas, devoid of the dramatic impact and impetus of his more famous, regularly performed works, {…}
(Credit: Camilla Greenwell) At the very opening of Damiano Michieletto’s new production of “Carmen,” I was struck by a very vivid sense of déjà vu! Before the curtain rises, a very sombre, spectral lady enters the stage, dressed in black with lace mantilla. For a brief instant, I thought I was back, four days PREVIOUSLY in the same house, where {…}
(Photo credit: Clive Barda/Royal Opera House) Nestling zest into impressionable appetites, bel canto master Donizetti’s “L’elisir d’amore” is a succulent confectioner’s delight: a cavalcade of strawberry and rhubarb shades that never age out of their calorific bubble. High on hyperactive captures of unravelling roulades and supercilious trills, its teasing feast of overblown, meringue-like vows empowers risk-taking directors. Decking his décor {…}
