(Credits: Simon Fowler / Frances Marshall / © Matthias Baus) Staatsoper Hamburg has announced that it will live stream its premiere of Massenet’s opera “Manon” on Jan. 24, 2021. Due to the German government COVID-19 regulations, the production will be performed without a live public. The opera will star Ioan Hotea as Chevalier Des Grieux, as Lescaut, Dimitry Ivashchenko as {…}
(Credit: Kevin Yatarola) Celebrated conductor Sir Simon Rattle has been appointed the new Chief Conductor of the Chor and Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks. Rattle will begin his five-year tenure in 2023. The famed conductor served as the Chief Conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker until 2018, and currently holds the position of Music Director of the London Symphony Orchestra. “Bayerischer Rundfunk {…}
(Credit: David Agassi) Mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili will give a recital at Palau de Les Arts Reina Sofía on Jan. 17, 2021. Rachvelishvili will be accompanied by pianist Vincenzo Scalera. The program will include works by Otar Taktakishvili, Piotr Tchaikovsky, Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff, Francesco Tosti, and Manuel de Falla. Rachvelishvili recently performed the role of Amneris in concert performances of Verdi’s {…}
(Credit: Henry Fair) Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal has announced the appointment of Venezuelan conductor Rafael Payare its new Music Director. Payare will start his five-year tenure during the 2022-23 season. The Venezuelan conductor will replace the famed conductor Kent Nagano, who has held the position since 2006. Payare graduated from the famous musical education program “El Sistema.” He won the {…}
(Credit: Gregor Hohenberg/Sony Music) France has announced the traditional New Year’s list of honors. La Grande Chancellerie de la Légion d’honneur has published the full list of recipients. Among those awarded is the celebrated tenor Roberto Alagna, thus becoming the Officer of Légion d’honneur . The famed tenor recently debuted the title role of Wagner’s “Lohengrin” at the Staatsoper Berlin. {…}
(Credit: © dpa/visitBerlin website / Gunnar Geller) The Staatsoper unter der Linden has canceled all performances until the end of January 2021. Among the performances canceled are premieres of Mozart’s “Idomeneo” with Andrew Staples, Lea Desandre and Evelin Novak, and Beethoven’s “Fidelio,” which was supposed to star Simone Schneider, Klaus Florian Vogt, René Pape and Greer Grimsley. Meanwhile, Komische Oper {…}
(Credit: Trond Gudevolt) The Staatsoper unter der Linden has announced that coloratura soprano Caroline Wettergreen will take over the role of Die Königin der Nacht in Mozart and Schikaneder’s “Die Zauberflöte” for the performances on Dec. 27, 2020 at 3:00 p.m. CET, and Jan. 10, 2021. Wettergreen will replace Antonina Vesenina and join a cast that includes René Pape in {…}
(Credit: © Pascal Albandopooulos) Opéra National du Rhin has announced that the Slovakian tenor Pavol Breslik has canceled his recital in Strasbourg on Oct. 21, 2020. The opera house stated that the reason for cancelation is the indisposition, not COVID-19 related. The cancelation comes after Breslik pulled out of the last two performances of Bizet’s “Les Pêcheurs de Perles” on {…}
Staatsoper unter der Linden has announced that tenor Charles Castronovo will fully take over the role of Nadir in Bizet’s “Les Pêcheurs de Perles” on Oct. 19 and Oct. 24, 2020. He will replace tenor Pavol Breslik in the role. The American tenor already stepped in for the vocal part of the Oct. 17, 2020 performance, while Breslik acted the {…}
The Staatsoper unter der Linden has announced that tenor Charles Castronovo will take over the singing part of the role of Nadir in a performance of Bizet’s “Les Pêcheurs de Perles,” replacing tenor Pavol Breslik. Breslik will still appear onstage, acting the role of Nadir. Castronovo will join a cast that includes Olga Peretyatko, Alfredo Daza and Paul Gay. Victorien {…}