(Review written in collaboration with David Salazar) The last time the Met Opera put on Giordano’s “Fedora” was 25 years ago. It was a common refrain in the lead up to the New Year’s Eve opening night with The New York Times, in an exclusive preview for the production, emphasizing the fact and trying to make sense of why this {…}
Sonya Yoncheva is set to appear at the Metropolitan Opera in future performances of “Un Ballo in Maschera,” “Medea,” and “Pique Dame.” Per an article by The Associated Press entitled “At top of opera, Yoncheva worries about classical music,” the Bulgarian soprano will be involved in a new production of the Verdi classic as well as revivals of the Tchaikovsky {…}
Sonya Yoncheva has announced her fifth solo album, “The Courtesan.” The soprano will release the album on Feb. 9, 2023 on her own label SY11 Productions. The album will focus on the world of courtesans in opera. The album was recorded last year in Genoa, Italy with the Orchestra dell’Opera Carlo Felice Genova led by Marco Armiliato and tenor Charles {…}
It’s that time of the year. A time when we can look forward to what’s to come, but also a moment to reflect on all we’ve experienced. And as has become the tradition here at OperaWire, we have asked our writers to select their choices for the opera performances that truly marveled them in 2022. So without further ado, we’ll {…}
The Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Argentina has announced its 2023 season. Here is a look at the operatic vocal performances. Opera Charles Dutoit conducts Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 in a production by Romeo Castellucci. Jaquelina Livieri and Guadalupe Barrientos star. Performance Dates: March 7-12, 2023 Jan Latham-Koenig conducts a production of Gounod’s “Faust” by Stefano Poda. The cast includes {…}
The Baden-Baden Festspielhaus has announced its 2023 season which will celebrate its 25th anniversary. The season opens with Jonas Kaufmann and Ludovic Tézier singing famous duets from operas by Verdi, Puccini and Ponchielli. Performance Dates: Jan. 8, 2023 Osterfestpiele Baden-Baden Kirill Petrenko conducts the Berliner Philharmoniker in Strauss’ “De Frau ohne Schatten.” Paul Zoller directs a cast that includes Iréne {…}
(Credit: Teatro alla Scala / Brescia – Amisano) On Oct. 18, the Teatro alla Scala held the second performance of Giordano’s “Fedora.” The work first premiered in 1898 and has a history with the theater with Maria Callas and Mirella Freni among the most renowned performers of the work. It has also been a vehicle for Franco Corelli, Plácido Domingo, {…}
Sonya Yoncheva is setting the record straight regarding her illness that caused her to cancel a highly anticipated production of “La Juive” at the Wiener Staatsoper. Following criticism of a picture, she posted on Sept. 7 which showed her in Geneva with the caption “Sunny in Geneva” and looking healthy, the soprano opted to post a photo of herself in {…}
The Château de Versailles Spectacles Royal Opera House has unveiled its 2022-23 season. For the purposes of this article, our focus will be solely on vocal performances. The vocal portion of the season kicks off with a performance of Berlioz’s “Roméo et Juliette” with Virginie Verrez, Andrew Staples, and Edwin Crossley-Mercer. Daniel Harding conducts the Choeur de Radio France and {…}
(Credit: Ken howard) PBS has announced that it will start broadcasting the Metropolitan Opera’s performance of “Don Carlos” on Sunday, August 7, 2022. The Verdi opera stars Sonya Yoncheva, Jamie Barton, Matthew Polenzani, Eric Owens, John Relyea, and Étienne Dupuis. Of the production, OperaWire’s Francisco Salazar noted that while the production did not really present the “original” French version of the {…}
The Metropolitan Opera, together with Fathom Events, has announced that it will be presenting summer encore performances of its Live in HD series. The Encore series kicks off with a repeat screening of the 2015 production of “The Merry Widow” starring Renée Fleming, Nathan Gunn, Kelli O’Hara, Alek Shrader, and Thomas Allen. Andrew Davis conducts. Screening Date: July 13, 2022 {…}