(Credit: Anton Ovcharov) Dmytro Popov is set to sing performances of Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera” at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. The company announced that Popov will take over the Sept. 19 and 23 performances in the role of Gustav which Piotr Beczala was originally scheduled to sing. Popov sang the opening night on Sept. 15 and is next scheduled {…}
(Credit: Johannes Ifkovits) Piotr Beczala has canceled performances of Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera” in Berlin. The Deutsche Oper Berlin announced via social media that Beczala was ill. The company stated, “Due to problems with his vocal chords, Piotr Beczala has to cancel his performances as Gustaf III in ‘Un Ballo in Maschera’ on 15/19/23 Sept at the Deutsche Oper.” As {…}
The Amore Opera has announced its 2018-19 season celebrating its 10th anniversary. This year the company will perform six productions that include opera classics, neglected gems of the repertoire, appealing children’s fare, and ever-popular Gilbert & Sullivan. Here is a look at what the season has to offer. Productions The season opens with Puccini’s “La Bohème” in a production co-directed {…}
The scene is set: a masked ball, set into the morning audience of King Gustavo III of Sweden – scarlet taffeta capes and gowns, coal-black hats and boots, creme and black masks. Donald Runnicles’, Music Director of the Deutscher Oper Berlin, lifts his baton with the brisk and lively overture to Verdi’s “Un Ballo In Maschera” and the curtain rises. {…}
Florence Quivar, born on March 3, 1944, is one of the great American mezzos of her time. She first came to love opera upon hearing the Met Opera on tour and then eventually launched on a mission to become a great opera singer in her own right. Her journey took her through the Julliard School, Philadelphia Academy of Music, and {…}
Throughout his career Verdi had to deal with the censors and their efforts to hinder his operas. Nowhere was this more prominent than in “Un Ballo in Maschera,” which premiered on Feb. 17, 1859. The work was originally entitled “Gustavo III,” but Verdi had to change the setting from Sweden to Boston and change the character of King Gustav III {…}
“Un Ballo in Maschera” is one of Verdi’s finest operas of his middle period. The libretto, while still rife with questionable melodramatic touches, features a compelling central character in the form of Riccardo / Gustavo. But more interestingly is the way that Verdi’s musical language has evolved throughout this particular work. “Ballo” is rife with glorious music that would easily {…}
It’s Valentine’s Day, the day to cherish a significant other. Last year we took a cynical look at the holiday, but not this year. Opera is rife with love, almost every single plot in every single work has some communion of two persons in that blissful word. In fact, love in opera has incited just as many battles and tension {…}
La Fenice opened its 2017-18 season with an interesting and courageous production of Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera,” a production which under the direction of Gianmaria Aliverta aimed at producing a deeper reading of the work, one which sought to uncover the underlying structural political conflicts that led to the assassination of a political leader. Verdi and his librettist, Antonio {…}
The Vienna State Opera’s will showcase its “Un Ballo in Maschera” production this coming Saturday, Nov. 11, 2017, as part of the company’s season-long live streaming service. The production will be led by conductor Jesús López Cobos, and star the likes of Piero Pretti as Gustaf III, Adrianne Pieczonka as Amelia, and Marco Caria as Ankarstrom. The production is directed {…}
It’s Halloween! Which means that most people are taking the opportunity to disguise themselves as someone else, live out a temporary existence as a character that they either dreamed of being or enjoy playing. Opera is full of this kind of interplay, with characters disguising themselves or putting on literal costumes to get their way. One thing we often learn {…}