(Photo: Eric Woolsey) For their 2024 mainstage summer festival season, Opera Theatre Saint Louis (OTSL) paired two fixtures in top-ten performance frequency, “The Barber of Seville” and “La Bohème,” with two exciting, less offered menu items. Philip Glass’s “Galileo Galilei” (2002) received just its fourth staging anywhere, while George Frideric Händel’s operatic capolavoro, “Julius Caesar” (“Giulio Cesare in Egitto,” 1724) {…}
Vancouver Opera is set to close its 2023-2024 season with Georges Bizet’s “Carmen.” The opera has not been performed at the company in 10 years and will be performed five times this season. In a statement, Tom Wright, General Director of Vancouver Opera said, “Bizet’s masterful score, multi-level sets that straddle the spectacular and the seedy, and the promise of captivating {…}
The Opera Theatre of Saint Louis has announced its 2024 season. The season opens with Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville“ conducted by Jonathan Brandani and directed by Eric Sean Fogel. The work will star Justin Austin, Hongni Wu, and Nathan Stark. Performance Dates: May 25-June 29, 2024 Joshua Blue, Katerina Burton, Thomas Glass, and Brittany Renee lead Puccini’s “La Bohème.” {…}
The Metropolitan Opera has announced a cast change for its production of “Rodelinda” on March 15, 2022. The company noted that for this evening’s performance, the role of Eduige will be sung by Sarah Mesko. Mesko will replace Sasha Cooke. Mesko made her Met debut during the 2016-17 season as the Second Lady in “The Magic Flute.” She has since {…}
If stuffy audiences at the Opéra-Comique first attacked George Bizet’s “Carmen” for its offensive content, today the opera runs the risk of seeming antiquated. Much of the music might get your toes tapping, but over-exposure risks making the most popular tunes seem trite or even parodic. Today’s audiences might not appreciate the orientalist take on Spanish culture that was so {…}
(Credit: Dario Acosta) Sarah Mesko is walking a straight path toward an important career. The Arkansas native has built her success on solid academic training and noteworthy apprenticeships, and has received bundles of prestigious awards in return. She has performed with scores of professional companies in the United States, including the Met where she has paid her dues as a {…}
The Tulsa Opera has announced its 2019-20 season featuring three productions. In a press statement Ken McConnell said, “We are pleased to present a season of three operas that showcase fiercely determined and strong female central characters, including Emmeline composed by our own Artistic Director Tobias Picker. Tulsa’s opera audience continues to grow and our community engagement is stronger than ever. {…}