Lincoln Center Great Performers 2020 Review: Susan Graham & Malcolm Martineau

(Photo Credit: Dario Acosta) February 4, 2020, saw the latest installment of Lincoln Center’s Great Performers series, with the evening’s recital featuring renowned mezzo-soprano Susan Graham, accompanied by Malcolm Martineau. The program, titled “Fauenliebe und –leben: Variations,” took Schumann’s song cycle and fleshed out a fuller narrative, using a breadth of musical works from other composers which spanned eight languages. {…}

Dec 26, 2019

Opera Meets Film: Opera Holland Park’s ‘Into the Light’ Is a Reminder of the Artform’s Spiritual Power

“Opera Meets Film” is a feature dedicated to exploring the way that opera has been employed in cinema. We will select a section or a film in its entirety, highlighting the impact that utilizing the operatic form or sections from an opera can alter our perception of a film that we are viewing. This week, in celebration of the holiday {…}

Dec 11, 2019

Premiere Opera Foundation & NYIOP 2019 International Vocal Competition Review: Finals Concert

Saturday, December 7, 2019, saw the finals concert of Premiere Opera Foundation and NYIOP’s International Vocal Competition. The 20 finalists gathered in the resonant First Christian Science Church to share their artistic gifts before a live audience and a panel of distinguished judges, including Paul Hopper of the Metropolitan Opera, Gerald Martin Moore of the Glyndebourne Festival, Pamela Walsh of {…}

Nov 25, 2019

Watch Marina Rebeka in Vienna State Opera’s Live Stream of ‘Eugene Onegin’

The Vienna State Opera will live stream Tchaikovsky’s ”Eugene Onegin” on Nov. 26, 2019. The opera will showcase soprano Marina Rebeka as Tatiana, Boris Pinkhasovich in the title role, Ferruccio Furlanetto as his signature Gremin, Pavol Breslik in his noted interpretation of Lensky, and Margarita Griskova as Olga. The Falk Richter production will be conducted by Michael Güttler. The stream {…}

Oct 19, 2019

Opera Quiz: Which Opera Composer Said This?

Opera composers are among the most admired artists of all time. All of them had unique personalities and letters and quotes gathered throughout the years have illuminated us about who they were and how they thoughts. So for this week’s quiz we will take a look at some of the iconic quotes from some of those great composers. Some quotes {…}

Sep 12, 2019

Artist Profile: Marina Poplavskaya, Notable Russian Soprano, Realtor, Teacher

(Credit: Ken Howard / Met Opera) Marina Poplavskaya is one of the notable Russian sopranos of the early 21st century. Born on Sept. 12, 1977 in Moscow, Russia, she would perform in the children’s chorus of the Bolshoi Theatre an eventually became a soloist of the Novaya Opera Theatre in 1996. From there she would debut at the Bolshoi Theatre {…}

Sep 6, 2019

Yusif Eyvazov Joins Cast Of ‘The Queen of Spades’ At Metropolitan Opera

Yusif Eyvazov will be singing three performances of Tchaikovsky’s “The Queen of Spades” at the Metropolitan Opera this fall. According to the company’s official website, the tenor will take on the role on Dec. 8, 14, and 21; all three were previously intended for Aleksandrs Antonenko, who remains scheduled for the performances on Nov. 29, Dec. 2, and 5. Kristian {…}

Sep 6, 2019

Livermore Valley Opera To Showcase ‘Eugene Onegin’ This Fall

Livermore Valley Opera will present Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin” at the Bankhead in Livermore, California starting on Sept. 28, 2019. The performance will feature Morgan Smith in the title role with Ukrainian-born soprano Antonina Chehovska as Tatiana. Kyle van Schoonhoven will round out the cast as Lensky. It will be directed by Candace Evans with the company’s music director Alex Katsman {…}

Aug 1, 2019

Midsummer Vilnius 2019 Review: Asmik Grigorian in concert

Asmik Grigorian started her summer festival season with a marvelous homecoming event in Vilnius. To say that this concert was long-awaited is a massive understatement. It would be sold out twice even if she had another recital days or weeks early — Asmik Grigorian is an absolute favorite of the local audience. But this concert happened after a long pause {…}

Jul 13, 2019

Buxton Festival 2019 Review: Eugene Onegin

(Credit: Genevieve Girling) Buxton Festival kicked off their program of operas with “Eugene Onegin,” Tchaikovsky’s work of love, passion, rejection and regret, set among the decadent leisured class of 19th century Imperial Russia, a class which was soon to meet its end at the hands of the communists in the 1917 revolution. Firmly rooted in the Romantic tradition, the opera {…}

Jul 2, 2019

Eurasia Festival 2019 Review: ‘Eugene Onegin’ Highlights

(Photo: Jonathan Levin) The last night of the Eurasia Festival saw the artists returning to the Kaufman Music Center for highlights from Tchaikovsky’s cherished opera “Eugene Onegin.” This concert staging was bolstered by excerpts from the original Pushkin poem, with the script adapted by pianist and Russian diction coach Vera Danchenko-Stern. Narrated by stage director Marc Verzatt, these excerpts served {…}

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