(Photo: Michele Crosera) Four months after La Fenice closed its doors, opera has once again returned to its stage, albeit not necessarily in a form that one normally associates with a traditional opera house. The regulations aimed at containing the spread of COVID 19 mean that Italian theatres, cinemas, and other public performance spaces must comply with stringent restrictions, which {…}
Opera will return to the Teatro la Fenice on July 10 with a new production of Vivaldi’s “Ottone in Villa.” The new production will be conducted by Diego Fasolis and star Giulia Semenzato, Sonia Prina, Lucia Cirillo, Valentino Buzza, and Michela Antenucci. Giovanni Di Cicco will direct the production with set designs by Massimo Checchetto, costumes by Carlos Tieppo, and {…}
The Teatro la Fenice has announced that it will reopen to the public in July. The theater will open with chamber concerts, symphonic concerts, and an opera production, all following health regulations implemented by the government. The first concert will be held on July 5 at 7 p.m. with the brass players of the Orchestra and choral artists from La {…}
The Händel International Festival in Göttingen will open its doors on May 20 and it is set to run through June 1. Here is a look at what is on offer. “Rodelinda” HWV 19 will feature Christina Gansch, Christopher Lowrey, Thomas Cooley, Franziska Gottwald, William Berger, and Owen Willetts, with Laurence Cummings conducting. Performance Dates: May 20, 22, 23, 26, 31, June 1, {…}
The 41st Rossini Opera Festival has announced the full casting for its 2020 Festival. As previously announced there will be three operas presented this year. The 2020 season will showcase three productions, including “Moïse et Pharaon” directed by Pier Luigi Pizzi and conducted by Giacomo Sagripanti. The cast will include Roberto Tagliavini, Erwin Schrott, Olga Peretyatko, Vasilisa Berzhanskaya, Monica Bacelli, {…}
The Teatro Colón de Buenos Aires has announced its 2020 season, which will feature eight productions and a number of concerts and chamber works. Here is a look at the operas that will be presented. Main Stage The season opens with Verdi’s “Nabucco” starring Sebastián Catana and Leonardo López Linares in the title role, Rebeka Lokar and Mónica Ferracani sharing {…}
The Teatro La Fenice has announced its 2019-20 season featuring a number of productions and concerts. Opera Alex Esposito, Piero Pretti, Julian Kim, and Maria Agresta star in Verdi’s “Don Carlo.” Myung-Whun Chung conducts a production by Robert Carsen. Performance Dates: Nov. 24-Dec. 7, 2019 Enrico Calesso conducts a new production of Carlo Collodi’s “Pinocchio.” Gianmaria Aliverta directs the production in a new version with Silvia Frigato {…}
The Theater an der Wien has announced its 2019-20 season featuring numerous rarely performed works, concert operas and a number of new productions. Opera Productions David Afkham conducts Amélie Niermeyer’s new production of Dvorak’s “Rusalka.” Maria Bengtsson sings the title role alongside Ladislav Elgr, Günther Groissböck, Natascha Petrinsky, and Kate Aldrich. Performance Dates: Sept. 19 – 30, 2019 Stefan Gottfried conducts Sam Brown’s production of Mozart’s {…}
The final opera of this year’s Innsbruck’s Festival for Early Music was “La Semele, o sia la richiesta fatale,” written in 1726 by the relatively unknown German composer, Johann Adolf Hasse, to a libretto by Francesco Ricciardi. Technically this is not an opera as such, but a serenata, although it could certainly fall within its ambit. Deriving from the Classical and {…}
As part of its 2017 programme, the Festival della Valle D’Itria presented a staging of Vivaldi’s opera “Orlando Furioso.” Embracing the performance traditions of the baroque period and resisting the temptation to make the work “relevant,” its director, Fabio Ceresa and his production team produced a splendid reading of the work, full of color, spectacle, and beauty. The musical direction, {…}
On Sunday, April 30, Medici Tv will live stream Carnegie Hall’s presentation of Handel’s “Ariodante.” Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato sings the title role in the concert performance, which is part of her “Ariodante’ tour around the United States. It is also part of Carnegie Hall’s critically acclaimed annual cycle of Handel operas in concert. DiDonato is joined by a remarkable international {…}