It has been 23 years since Daniel Barenboim offered three performances of Wagner’s comedy at Teatro Real. It was the first Laurent Pelly Wagner production, and therefore the expectations were high. And the result did not disappoint an enthusiastic audience which gave strong ovations at the curtain call. Pelly is a master in “comedy” and he recognizes that he doesn’t {…}
For the third year in a row, the Teatro Real is set to hand out awards for artistic merit. This year the company will award conductor Pablo Heras-Casado, director Robert Wilson, sopranos Saioa Hernández and Sara Blanch, and baritones Leight Melrose and Martin Winkler at a ceremony on May 22. The evening will showcase performances by pianist Javier Perianes. Hernández {…}
The President of the Teatro de Madrid Gregorio Marañón has been honored with Doctor Honoris Causa by the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos. The honor was bestowed on Marañón at the university which saw Minister of Culture Ernest Urtasun, Minister of the Presidency, Justice and Relations Félix Bolaños, Government Delegate Pilar Trinidad, and the Minister of Culture, Tourism, and Sports of the Community of {…}
Opera star Sondra Radvanovsky took the stage at the Teatro Real de Madrid to present a concert centering on the three final scenes of Donizetti’s Tudor trilogy. There’s a commercial recording on CD of a previous Chicago performance, as well as previous performances in Barcelona and Napoli. And as she did on those occasions, on this night Radvanovsky continued to {…}
It belongs in the past, the idea of gathering excellent singers for opening night and then choosing unknown young performers for alternative casts. Teatro Real, with the participation of Quinn Kelsey, John Osborn and Gianluca Buratto, proved how strong cast C was for its production of “Rigoletto.” Quinn Kelsey as Rigoletto Baritone Quinn Kelsey portrayed the titular role. He has {…}
The Teatro Real de Madrid continued its run of “Rigoletto” with a second cast under the musical direction of Nicola Luisotti. Since our earlier review of the first cast already explores the production itself, we will jump right into an analysis of the vocal performances. Étienne Dupuis was a lyrical Rigoletto, but far too lyrical. His warm and effortless timbre {…}
The Teatro Real de Madrid has announced a cast change for “Luisa Fernanda” on Oct. 25, 2023. The company said that Ismael Jordi has had to cancel his participation as Javier. As a result, tenor Alejandro del Cerro will replace him. Del Cerro is currently performing Tybalt in “Roméo et Juliette” at the Bilbao Opera. He has performed at the {…}
(Photo Credit: Javier del Real) On October 16, 2023, Spain’s eminent performing arts company, Teatro Real, returned to New York City for a gala concert at the newly-reopened David Geffen Hall. The program was comprised of a selection of classical and flamenco works, passionately delivered by the Orchestra of the Teatro Real, under conductor Juanjo Mena, and special guest artists. {…}
In the second cast of the Teatro Real de Madrid’s “Medea,” Saioa Hernandez proved a revelation. Her dramatic instrument with a bright dark timbre, her expansive vibrato, her thunderous high register, her sonorous low register in chest voice, and her fluid vocal line make her ideal for this role. Medea’s writing is mostly central, we could even say that it {…}
(Credit: Javier del Real) Teatro Real opened its 2023-24 season with Cherubini’s masterpiece “Medea.” The opera had a great success and was very popular in Europe during the XIX century, where it was usually performed in German or Italian and with a newly written recitative instead of the original French dialogues between arias and scenes. “Medea” was rarely performed during {…}
The Teatro Real’s chorus has announced that it has come to an agreement with Intermezzo to avoid a strike. In a statement by the CGT, “After the mediation carried out yesterday at the Regional Institute of Mediation and Arbitration, an agreement has been reached between the representation of the workers and the Intermezzo association to call off the partial stoppages {…}