(Photo: SF/Monika Rittershaus) Bohuslav Martinů’s opera “The Greek Passion” is a work still in search of its audience. The opera, seldom performed, is considered to be one of Martinů’s finest compositions. This season’s Salzburg Festival tried hard to make “The Greek Passion” a rare and visually noteworthy production. But it didn’t quite work out. The opera’s political radicalness and musical accomplishments are {…}
(Photo credit: Marty Sohl) This review was written in collaboration with David Salazar. On April 23, the Metropolitan Opera opened a new production of “Lucia di Lammermoor.” This marked the second production of Donizetti’s masterpiece during General Manager Peter Gelb’s term. In 2007, the company brought a production by Mary Zimmerman which set the piece in Victorian times and {…}
(Credit: Jonathan Tichler / Met Opera) Peter Gelb has revealed that Simon Stone will return to the Metropolitan Opera to direct another new production. In an interview with the New York Times, the company’s General Manager said that the Met will stage Stone’s production of Kaija Saariaho’s “Innocence,” which was first produced at the Festival Aix-En-Provence. Gelb also said that {…}
(Photo: Jean-Louis Fernandez) Postponed from last year, owing to COVID restrictions, Kaija Saariaho’s new opera “Innocence” finally received its world premiere at this year’s Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, and it did not disappoint. The libretto, written by Sofi Oksanen, interweaves two narratives which relate to a school shooting. One focuses on the students and their teacher who were present at the time {…}
(Photo Credit / Source: Magdalena Kozena Facebook / Kamil Szkopik / Warner Classic) The Festival d’Aix-en-Provence has announced a revamped approach to its 202 Festival which is set to take place online due to the continued impact of COVID-19. For 10 days, audience members will get the opportunity to engage with four distinct events which will be accessible via Arte {…}
(Credit: Charles DuPrat / Opera de Paris) “La Traviata” by Giuseppe Verdi is probably one of the most popular operas from this composer and from the opera catalogue in general. Based on the the play “La Dame aux Camelies,” which has been adapted from the novel with the same tittle by Alexandre Dumas (son), was inspired on the life of {…}