Garsington Opera has announced its 30th anniversary season, which is set to include four new productions – including a UK stage premiere of Offenbach’s little-known “Fantasio.” The season will run from May 29, 2019 through July 26, 2019. The season kicks off with Smetana’s “The Bartered Bride,” set in the English countryside. Natalya Romaniw stars as Mařenka, alongside Brenden Gunnell {…}
Sophie Bevan has canceled her Wigmore Hall Recital. The Wigmore Hall announced via social media that due “to unforeseen circumstances, Sophie Bevan is no longer able to take part in the Feb. 4, 2019 concert. There will be no replacement and the concert has therefore been canceled.” Bevan was scheduled to perform alongside pianist Malcolm Martineau. The soprano next performs {…}
Garsington Opera has announced the schedule for its 2019 season, which will be the company’s 30th Anniversary celebration. The first production will Smetana’s “The Bartered Bride,” which will star Natalya Romaniw, Brenden Gunnell, Joshua Bloom, Stuart Jackson, Peter Savidge, Marie McLaughlin, Brian Bannatyne-Scott, Anne-Marie Owens, and Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts. Jac van Steen conducts while Paul Curran directs. Performance Dates: May 29, {…}
Benjamin Britten’s “Gloriana” was supposed to be one of his great triumphs. The composer himself is quoted, prior to its premiere in 1953, that he saw it as his best work to that point (he had already written “Billy Budd” and “Peter Grimes,” mind you). It was composed for the regal occasion of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation. It was one {…}
This week we look at six different operas scattered around Europe that are sure to bring about unique experiences. Götterdämmerung – Wiener Staatsoper, Austria Stephen Gould, Eric Halfvarson, and Iréne Theorin lead the final installment in Wagner’s Tetralogy. The opera, which will also be live streamed, is set to be conducted by Adam Fischer. It will also be the final performance {…}
This week sees the release of a world premiere recording, a second solo recital, and an opera featuring a legendary singer. Great Scott Erato releases the world premiere recording of Jake Heggie’s 2015 opera “Great Scott.” The recording, which was made at the Dallas Opera stars Joyce DiDonato in the leading role, Ailyn Pérez, Frederica Von Stade, Nathan Gunn, and {…}
Luis Buñuel’s “The Exterminating Angel” is one of the iconic surrealist masterpieces of all cinema. Set at an upper-class dinner, the film analyzes how people revert to their basest of instincts when they get stuck in a room that they inexplicably cannot escape. The film succeeds in its ability to blend the normal with the unreal in rather claustrophobic fashion, {…}