(Credit: Ken Howard / Met Opera) The Metropolitan Opera is in the midst of reviving “Un Ballo in Maschera” for the first time since 2015. Considered one of Verdi’s masterpieces, the work has some of the greatest arias and ensembles the composer ever wrote. For this revival, the Met brought a solid cast in an unfortunate production that should have {…}
(Photo: Ken Howard / Met Opera) Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera” returns to the Metropolitan Opera for the first time since 2015. The opera will be presented in David Alden with Italian maestro Carlo Rizzi leading the orchestra. The cast will include Charles Castronovo, Angela Meade, Quinn Kelsey, Liv Redpath, and Olesya Petrova. Alden’s production was first performed at the {…}
The Metropolitan Opera has announced a new cast change for its production of “Un Ballo in Maschera.” The company noted that Liv Redpath will replace Nina Minasyan in the role of Oscar. Redpath made her Met debut in 2021 with the Met Orchestra Chamber Ensemble at Carnegie Hall. This season she is also set to perform Pamina in “The Magic {…}
The Metropolitan Opera has announced a cast change for its production of Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera.” The company noted that for the role of Amelia, Angela Meade will replace the originally announced Elena Stikhina. Meade has performed the role of Amelia at the Verbier Festival. She is well known for her Verdi interpretations having sung such operas “Ernani,” “Il {…}
The forces behind the Dutch label Pentatone are deserving of every accolade for producing beautifully engineered recordings. This is especially important considering that heavy hitters like Warner and Sony only hesitatingly, and with big marketing efforts, venture into the operatic realm, knowing that its share of profitability has long become a calculated and somewhat unwanted risk. Critics will surely remember {…}
Sona Yoncheva is set to return to the Metropolitan Opera in 2025. In a statement via social media, the soprano confirmed her return. The post stated, “Sonya Yoncheva was happy to be back at the Metropolitan Opera yesterday listening to “Tosca“ conducted by Domingo Hindoyan. After four great months in the US and beautiful productions of “Fedora” and “Norma”, Sonya {…}
Sonya Yoncheva is set to appear at the Metropolitan Opera in future performances of “Un Ballo in Maschera,” “Medea,” and “Pique Dame.” Per an article by The Associated Press entitled “At top of opera, Yoncheva worries about classical music,” the Bulgarian soprano will be involved in a new production of the Verdi classic as well as revivals of the Tchaikovsky {…}
On Sept. 24, the Bilbao Opera is set to present Tutto Verdi concert. The concert is set to take place at the Euskalduna Bilbao with Daniel Oren conducting the Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa. Angela Meade, Daniela Barcellona, Sergio Escobar, Giovanni Meoni, and David Lagares will star as the soloists of the gala. Throughout the evening, audiences will hear 15 different scenes {…}
Praised for her unwavering vocal stamina, character portrayal, technique, and sublime timbral quality, Joyce El-Khoury has become one of the leading bel canto sopranos of our time. Not only an expressive dramaturge and highly sought after classical singer, but additionally a champion for classical singing advocacy in her home country of Lebanon with her “Lessons for Lebanon” work, El-Khoury epitomizes {…}
Maestro Riccardo Muti is sticking to the original text of “Un Ballo in Maschera.” In a recent interview with the Associated Press in anticipation of his performances of the Verdi opera, the conductor commented on a racially charged text in the original score which states, “dell’immondo sangue de’ negri (“she has filthy Black blood).” The conductor decided not to alter {…}
Rai Radio 3 is set to broadcast performances from the XXI Festival Verdi for three days. Audiences will get a chance to hear performances from the festival on Jan. 31, Feb 12, and March 26. On Jan. 31, Rai Radio 3 will present a symphonic concert directed by Roberto Abbado featuring excerpts from “Oberto, Conte di San Bonifacio,” “Il finto {…}
