If stuffy audiences at the Opéra-Comique first attacked George Bizet’s “Carmen” for its offensive content, today the opera runs the risk of seeming antiquated. Much of the music might get your toes tapping, but over-exposure risks making the most popular tunes seem trite or even parodic. Today’s audiences might not appreciate the orientalist take on Spanish culture that was so {…}
This weekend has a ton of incredible productions to behold. The New York Opera Festival is in full swing as some of the major companies from around the country start to close their doors for the summer. The Rape of Lucretia – New Camerata Opera The Britten piece gets a unique new production directed by Bea Goodwin that will also {…}
This week baritone Lucia Lucas will break a glass ceiling in the United States by becoming the first trans woman to perform a principal role on the operatic stage in the U.S. Lucas will make her U.S. debut at the Tulsa Opera singing the title role of “Don Giovanni” after taking Europe by storm over the years. Lucas has reached {…}
On May 3, 2019 the Tulsa Opera will host an American first. According to a carefully worded press release, it will be “the first time a trans woman has performed a principal role on the operatic stage in the US.” Baritone Lucia Lucas will make her American main-stage debut in the title role of Mozart and da Ponte’s “Don Giovanni.” {…}
Kirkpatrick & Kinslow Productions have announced it is green-lighting a cutting edge, timely documentary entitled “Lucia’s Voice (Working Title).” The new film center on internationally renowned opera star Lucia Lucas will perform the title role in Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” at the Tulsa Opera in May. Lucas is set to be the first baritone transgender woman performing a lead role in {…}
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s “The Little Prince” was a twinkle of light in dark times. The author, a celebrated pilot and raconteur, wrote it while exiled from France in New York City during the Nazi occupation of his homeland. This helps explain the mood and tone of his book. Though delicate and charmingly illustrated, it is a melancholic meditation on loneliness {…}
The Tulsa Opera has announced its 2019-20 season featuring three productions. In a press statement Ken McConnell said, “We are pleased to present a season of three operas that showcase fiercely determined and strong female central characters, including Emmeline composed by our own Artistic Director Tobias Picker. Tulsa’s opera audience continues to grow and our community engagement is stronger than ever. {…}
The Tulsa Opera has announced its 2018-19 which will feature three operas. Dubbed, “An Era of Inclusion,” it must be noted that each of these productions will feature three conductors from Latin American countries. There is also one massively important casting decision made in this season. The first of these is “The Barber of Seville” which opens on Oct. 19, {…}
Another operatic weekend. Another set of opening performances around North America. The big one on the radar is “Samson et Dalila” at the Dallas Opera, which is set to star Olga Borodina. The opera opens on Friday with another performance set for Sunday. Houston Grand Opera opens its production of “La Traviata” on Saturday. Additionally, the Florentine Opera opens its {…}
Opera season remains in full swing across North America as summer fast approaches. With so many companies in business this weekend, we have opted for a slight shift in structure. Instead of a series of paragraphs, we will go list form for this week’s edition and any with this massive amount of productions. Behold the opera events of the weekend {…}
Tulsa Opera has announced its 2017-18 season, which will feature two classics from the international repertoire. The season opens on Oct. 20 and 22 with a production of Gounod’s “Faust.” Tenor Martin Piskorski, who made waves at La Scala last season, will make his US debut in the title role while Turkish bass Önay Köse, will play Mephistopheles, making his {…}