(Photo: Dahyun Baek) SeokJong Baek’s rise to prominence in the opera world can only be described as meteoric, if not almost difficult to believe. Almost 15 years singing as a baritone, a chance encounter with fellow South Korean tenor Yonghoon Lee suggested to him that he might make a better tenor than a baritone. Despite joining the San Francisco Young {…}
(Photo credit: Karen Almond / Met Opera) This season’s premiere of Met Opera’s “Tosca” features Polish soprano Aleksandra Kurzak, in the titular role, marking her 100th Met performance. Her Met debut was in 2004 as Olympia in Offenbach’s “Les Contes d’Hoffmann” and her performances leading up to this season have all been unforgettable, especially Kurzak as Tosca. Her voice alongside tenor {…}
The Arizona Opera has announced its 2024-25 season. The season opens with Arizona Opera’s new “Beyond Downtown” program, the newest evolution of the company’s McDougall RED Series, which will bring operatic performances throughout Arizona, reaching beyond the walls of the theaters in which the company typically performs. Performance Dates: TBD Caitlin Gotimer, SeokJong Baek, Benjamin Taylor, and Emma Marhefka perform {…}
The Salzburg Easter Festival has announced its 2025 season. Modest Mussorgsky’s “Khovanshchina” will be directed by Simon McBurney and will showcase the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen. It will be presented in a version of the unfinished work based solely on the testimonies left behind by Mussorgsky. Performance Dates: TBA Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2. {…}
(Credit: Karen Almond / Met Opera) The 350th performance of “Turandot” at the Met exceeded expectations with Ukrainian conductor Oksana Lyniv and Russian soprano Elena Pankratova making their house debuts and intentionally working together to deliver jaw-dropping moments of overwhelming musical beauty and power. The night also featured remarkable performances by South Korean tenor SeokJong Baek, Polish soprano Aleksandra Kurzak, {…}
(Credit: Marty Sohl / Met Opera) “Nabucco” returned to the Metropolitan Opera after a seven-year absence. The opera was set to return during the 2020-21 season but was canceled due to the pandemic. Now Verdi’s early gem is finally back in the company’s legendary Elijah Moshinsky production that has become emblematic of the Met’s grandeur and its gorgeous tableaus. Having {…}
The Orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia has announced its 2023-24 season. Here is a look at the vocal performances. Concerts Jakub Hrůša conducts Corinne Winters, Richard Samek, and Roman Hoza in a Smetana and Dvořák program. Performance Dates: Oct. 19-21, 2023 Matthias Goerne performs selections from Mahler’s “Des Knaben Wunderhorn” under Manfred Honeck. The program also includes {…}
(Photo: Tristram Kenton) Robert Carsen’s new production of Giuseppe Verdi’s “Aida” opened at the Royal Opera House back in the autumn; now it is receiving its first revival as the 2022-23 season begins to wind up for the year. First time round it was conducted by Antonio Pappano; this time an equally distinguished British institution takes the musical reins in {…}
After two years of lockdowns, cancelations, and COVID, 2022 seemed like it would be an easier year. But alas it wasn’t as the world was struck with a war, human rights violations that were met with worldwide protests, and governments that threatened to rewind time and take away rights. There were also major cuts in funding for opera that has {…}
(Credit: Tristram Kenton/Royal Opera House) Double-crossing, licentiousness, and the sad demise of a once popular showman: that was all going on down the road in Westminster while the Royal Opera House revived Damiano Michieletto’s double bill of “Cavalleria rusticana” and “Pagliacci.” Sightings of former prime minister Theresa May and former Johnson ally Michael Gove – himself ignominiously sacked by Johson {…}
The Filarmónica de Gran Canaria has announced its 2022-23 season featuring four vocal performances and international artists. Here is a look: The season opens with excerpts from “Aida” starring Elina Garanča, Latonia Moore, Seokjong Baek, and Rihards Macanovskis. Karel Mark Chichon conducts. Performance Date: Sept. 23, 2022 Josep Gils conducts the chorus of Gran Canaria in a program of music {…}