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 {…}
(Credit: Teatro Regio di Torino) The Deutsche Oper Berlin has announced multiple cast changes for the performance of Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera” on Dec. 29, 2021. Per an official press release, tenor Dmytro Popov will replace Yusif Eyvazov in the role of King Gustavo III. Popov is a well-known tenor who has performed at the Metropolitan Opera House, Opéra {…}
The Verbier Festival has announced its 2022 season, featuring operas and several concerts. For the purpose of this article, we will focus on vocal works. Operas Mozart’s opera “Don Giovanni” kicks off the festival with Olga Peretyatko as Donna Anna, Magdalena Kožená as Donna Elvira, Bogdan Volkov as Don Ottavio, Mikhail Petrenko as Leporello, Alexandros Stavrakakis as Il Commendatore, Julien {…}
(Credit: © Lidia Khomich) The Deutsche Oper Berlin has announced that soprano Angela Meade will not be appearing in the role of Amelia in Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera” in December 2021. As a result, soprano Irina Churilova will take over the role. Per the same press release, Heidi Stober will replace Meechot Marrero in the role of Oscar. Churilova {…}