“Par amour” is a revelatory publication. Novel, crafty, and utterly delightful, it puts in the spotlight Vannina Santoni, a French soprano of yet modest clout – but a formidable sensibility. Her program, on Alpha Classics, is an operatic potpourri. It transitions from your regular femme fatale to varying shades of amorous innocence: Thaïs and Manon appear alongside Juliette; Katiusha counterpoints {…}
(Photo: courtesy of Vannina Santoni) Jules Massenet completed more than 30 operas over the course of his career, scoring numerous successes. Within a few years of his death, however, his reputation had faded. Today, apart from “Werther,” “Manon” and to a lesser extent “Thaïs,” most opera-goers would struggle to name more than one or two other titles. Opera companies reinforce {…}
(Photo: © Vincent Pontet) A few moments before the start of the opera, a friend of mine told me that this is the first time Aquarius has been in Pluto’s orbit since 1789. Whether or not that is true, I cannot say; I did not have the willingness to check. Still, it could be a sign from the stars that {…}
The Opéra de Lille has announced its 2024-25 season. Opera Nicola Porpora’s “Polifemo” will feature Kangmin Justin Kim, Marie Lys, Paul-Antoine Bénos-Djian, Delphine Galou, José Coca Loza, and Florie Valiquette. Emmanuelle Haïm conducts the production by Bruno Ravella. Performance Dates: Oct. 8-16, 2024 Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s “David et Jonathas” will star Petr Nekoranec, Gwendoline Blondeel, Jean-Christophe Lanièce, Lucile Richardot, Étienne Bazola, {…}
Opéra Comique has announced its schedule for the 2024-25 season. Auber’s “Le Domino noir” is set to be conducted by Louis Langrée and will be directed by Valérie Lesort and Christian Hecq. The cast includes Anne-Catherine Gillet, Cyrille Dubois, and Victoire Bunel. Performance Date: Sept. 20-28, 2024 George Benjamin & Martin Crimp’s “Picture a Day Like This” is set to {…}
The Gran Teatre del Liceu has announced a cast change for its production of “Turandot.” The company said that due to muscle problems, Nadine Sierra has been forced to cancel her participation as Liù as she will require treatment during the performance dates. As a result, Sierra will be replaced by Vannina Santoni and Adriana González. Santoni will perform on {…}
The Opéra Orchestre national Montpellier Occitanie has announced its 2022-23 season. Opera Ainārs Rubiķis conducts Verdi’s “Aida” in a production by Annabel Arden. The opera stars Sunyoung Seo, Ketevan Kemoklidze, Amadi Lagha, Leon Kim, and Jacques Greg-Belobo. Performance Dates: Sept. 30-Oct. 4, 2022 Noëlle Gény leads “Bach et le sacré.” Performance Date: Oct. 16, 2022 Noëlle Gény conducts “Musiques sacrées” Performance Date: Dec. 11, 2022 {…}
The Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse has announced its 2022-23 season featuring opera and recitals. Here is a look: Opera The season opens with Dvorák’s “Rusalka” conducted by Frank Beermann and directed by Stefano Poda. The opera stars Anita Hartig, Aleksei Isaev, Piotr Buszewski, Béatrice Uria-Monzon, and Janina Bachle. Performance Dates: Oct. 6-16, 2022 Vannina Santoni, Anaïs Constans, Kévin Amiel, {…}
The Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris has announced two cast changes for its upcoming performance of Massenet’s “Manon” on Sept. 15, 2021. The company announced that Vannina Santoni will sing the title role of Manon Lescaut replacing Patricia Petibon while Jean-Sébastien Bou will sing the role of Lescaut taking over for Arthur Ruciński. Santoni has performed the Massenet opera in Monte-Carlo {…}
(Credits: Gregor Hohenberg/Sony Music / Brennecke Art official website / Ruth Kappus / Foto Studio Harcourt) Opéra de Saint-Étienne in France has announced its 2021-22 season. Here is a look. Opera Massenet‘s “La Vierge” will star Irina Kyshliaruk, Amélie Robins, Lucie Roche, Christophe Berry, Thomas Marc Scoffoni, and Catherine Hunold in the title role. Alexandra Cravero conducts the production by {…}
Radio France has announced its 2021-22 season. For the purpose of this article we will focus only on the vocal works. Here is a look. Operas Ravel’s “L’Enfant et les sortilèges” spotlights Jodie Devos, Clara Guillon, Adèle Charvet, Marie Lenormand, Élodie Méchain, Antoine Normand, Régis Mengus, and Paul Gay. Mikko Franck conducts. Performance date: Oct. 1, 2021, Philharmonie de Paris {…}