Puccini’s “Tosca” is currently making the rounds at the Metropolitan Opera and is considered one of the greatest operas in the canon. Or at least one of the best known. So people think. So as you prepare to take on this opera once again, whether at a theater or on the internet, or on your television, test out your knowledge {…}
The opera season has quieted down around much of the US and Canada, but the city that never sleeps, and other towns, still have a wide range of opera offerings. Not all of them are staged productions as there are two recital offerings worth your time! Wagner Society of New York – Clay Hilley in Recital Up-and-coming tenor Clay Hilley {…}
This review is for the performance on Jan. 4, 2018. It was the most hotly anticipated production of the new Met season, the run-up to its unveiling on New Year’s Eve as big a melodrama as the opera itself, filled with unexpected twists and turns. And like the opera itself, where its final act feels like an anti-climax after the {…}
As 2017 comes to a close, the US opera scene fades out almost completely. Last week we saw only a handful of operas from the Metropolitan Opera featured on the weekend. This weekend is slightly different with two other companies joining the fray. Here are the operas to see this weekend. The Barber of Seville – Eugene Opera, Amore Opera {…}
On New Years Eve the Metropolitan Opera will premiere a new production of Puccini’s “Tosca.” The production, which will be directed by David McVicar comes on the heels of a controversial one by Luc Bondy (his interpretation of the Puccini work was infamously booed on its opening night). While the Met has showcased Tosca a whopping 950 times since its {…}
Over the past years, Vittorio Grigolo has become one of the biggest stars in the opera world for his magnetic and charismatic stage presence. His performances have been heralded by critics in numerous lyric roles including Nemorino in “L’Elisir d’Amore,” Edgardo in “Lucia di Lammermoor,” Rodolfo in “La “Boheme,” and Hoffmann in “Les Contes d’Hoffmann.” And now the tenor is {…}
Puccini, born on Dec. 22, 1858, has provided the entire world with some of the greatest operas ever conceived by mankind. With his lush melodies that pull on anyone’s heartstrings and his incredible sense of drama, the composer became the Italian heir to Verdi and essentially the end of the formal line of Italian tradition. After Puccini’s death in the {…}
Fernando Corena, born on Dec. 22, 1916, had a long-standing association with the Metropolitan Opera. In fact, he sang over 700 times with the company between 1954 and 1978. His first ever performance with the company was as Leporello in “Don Giovanni,” that debut coming on Feb. 6, 1954. On Dec. 30, 1978, he finished off his Met career in {…}
Bulgaria soprano Raina Kabaivanska was born on Dec. 15, 1934 and would go on to a prominent opera career that saw her sing with such companies as the Royal Opera House, Vienna State Opera, the Budapest Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the San Francisco Opera, the Dallas Opera, the Paris Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera, among many other places. {…}
Karine Babajanyan is well known for her wide-ranging repertoire in the lirico-spinto fach, performing the works of Verdi and Puccini and many of the Verismo composers. She has particularly become well-known for her interpretations of “Madama Butterfly,” “Tosca,” “Aida,” Amelia in “Un Ballo in Maschera” and has travelled to many of the leading theaters including the Berlin Staatsoper, the Hamburg Staatsoper, {…}