The Bayerische Staatsoper has announced a cast change for its production of “La Cenerentola.” The company said that Teresa Iervolino will perform the title role replacing Vasilisa Berzhanskaya. Iervolino has performed at the Teatro San Carlo di Napoli, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Staatsoper Dresden Teatro La Fenice, Oper Frankfurt, Teatro Real de Madrid, Arena di Verona, and Bayerische Staatsoper. She is {…}
(Photo: Monika Ritttershaus) The initial impressions of the Aix-en-Provence festival’s production of Rossini’s “Moïse et Pharaon” did not bode well. Hearsay reports spoke of a modern day reinterpretation in which the focus was on refugees, and their life in the camps and the perils they face when crossing the Mediterranean. Productions which seek to politicize an opera, beyond that which {…}
The Teatro Carlo Felice has announced its 2022-23 Season. Opera Berlioz’s “Béatrice et Bénedict” is set to star Julien Behr, Giorgio Misseri, Benedetta Torre, Francesca Benitez, Cecilia Molinari, and Sofia Koberidze. Donato Renzetti conducts the production by Damiano Michieletto. Performance Dates: Oct. 28-Nov. 6, 2022 Rossini’s “La Cenerentola” is set to star Filippo Maria Romano, Giovanni Romeo, Hongni Wu, Laura Verrecchia, {…}
Tha Maggio Musicale Fiorentino has announced its 2022-23 Season. Here is a look: Daniele Gatti conducts a revival of Rossini’s “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” with Ruzil Gatin, Vasilisa Berzhanskaya, Nicola Alaimo, Fabio Capitanucci, Evgeny Stavinskiy, and Carmen Buendí. Performance Dates: Sept. 8-15, 2022 Zubin Mehta conducts Verdi’s “Il Trovatore” with Cesare Lievi directing. Amartushvin Enkhbat, María José Siri, Ekaterina Semenchuck, Fabio Sartori, and Riccardo Fassi directing. Performance Dates: Sept. 29-Oct. {…}
This week audiences get to experience new albums from great baritones and some rising stars. Here is a look at the releases. Così fan tutte The Maggio Musicale releases Mozart’s masterpiece on Naxos. Conductor Zubin Mehta leads the production by Sven-Eric Bechtolf. The recording from March 2021 stars Thomas Hampson, Valentina Nafornita, Vasilisa Berzhanskaya, Matthew Swenson, Mattia Olivieri, and Benedetta Torre. L’Orfeo Opus Arte {…}
The Deutsche Oper Berlin has announced its 2022-23 season featuring seven new productions. Premieres R.Strauss’ “Arabella” will be conducted by Sir Donald Runnicles in a new production by Tobias Kratzer. Albert Pesendorfer, Doris Soffel, Rachel Willis-Sørensen, Elena Tsallagova, and Russell Braun. Performance Dates: March 18-April 6, 2023 Arne Gieshoff and Franziska Angerer’s “Bear” will have its world premiere. Performance Dates: {…}
(Credit: Julian Hargreaves) The Royal Opera House Covent Garden has announced that superstar soprano Anna Netrebko has withdrawn from the performances of Verdi’s “Nabucco” between Jan. 14 – 23, 2022, due to ongoing travel restrictions across Europe. As a result, Liudmyla Monastyrska will take over the role of Abigaille. Monastyrska joins a cast that includes Alexander Vinogradov as Zaccaria, Vasilisa {…}
(Credit: Sim Canetty-Clarke) The Royal Opera House Covent Garden has been forced to cancel performances of Verdi’s “Nabucco” on Dec. 23 and 28 due to resource challenges caused by the Omicron COVID-19 variant. The two performances were set to star Liudmyla Monastyrska as Abigaille, Alexander Vinogradov as Zaccaria, Vasilisa Berzhanskaya in the role of Fenena, Najmiddin Mavlyanov as Ismaele, Blaise {…}
(Credit: Royal Opera House Covent Garden official website) The Royal Opera House Covent Garden has announced five new streams to kick off the new year. For the purposes of this article, we will focus on vocal performances. The opera house will first stream Sir David McVicar’s production of Gounod’s “Faust” from 2019. The opera stars Erwin Schrott as the devil {…}
After a year and a half of limited performances and shut downs, 2021 marked the year during which performers were able to bring their artistry to the stage and to the audiences. And now 2021 is bringing down its curtain. There were so any memorable moments in the year and there were truly some historical performances. Like previous years, OperaWire {…}
(Credit: Fay Fox/Jaclyn Simpson/Lynn Lane) It’s been a tough 2021. After some hope settled into the opera world with the reopening of most companies around the globe, the end of the year seemed to revert to what we saw for much of 2020 – more lockdowns, more COVID, more cancelations. But despite what seems like a dark ending to the {…}