Guild Opera Company will present Verdi’s “Macbeth” on April 25 and 26, 2025 at River of the Valley in Canoga Park. The production will be directed by Gabriel Reoyo Pazos with Helen Wu conducting. Starring in the Verdi work is Carlos Oliva in the title role and Emma Berggren as Lady Macbeth. As Banco, audiences will see Dennis Rupp, while {…}
Verdi devotee August Ventura will present “There’s Something About Verdi” at The Coffee Houst Club in New York City on April 9, 2025 from 6 – 7:30 p.m. local time. The multi-media presentation will honor the famed composer and will feature the presentation of “In the Mouth of the World,” a documentary that showcases long-lost footage of major opera singers, {…}
The Accademia Verdiana has announced that 14 singers will participate in this year’s program. The singers were chosen from 148 applicants from 14 countries. This year’s students are sopranos Nicoletta Briguglio, Laura Delogu, Judith Maria Durr, Mariko Hélène Lepage, Yuliya Pogrebnyak, Mariia Smirnova, and Yijia Zhong; mezzo-soprano Erica Cortese; tenors Federico Bonghi, Long Ning, and Dongjae Son; baritone Jaehyeon Kim; {…}
(Photo: Marc Brenner/Royal Ballet & Opera) Entombing doom in monochrome, director Robert Carsen’s 2022 production of “Aïda” buries its protagonists before they’re dead. Façades of forced conformity define it – popping through parades of khaki uniforms, authentic footage of exploding bombs and regimented training. A fictitious flag that features stars and stripes across red, white and blue confirm its commentary {…}
Malmö Opera is set to live stream Verdi’s “Giovanna d’Arco” on Nov. 17, 2024. The opera is directed by Philipp M. Krenn and conducted by Daniela Musca. It stars Ania Jeruc in the title role of Giovanna, Bror Magnus Tödenes as Carlo, Fredrik Zetterström as Giacomo, Gustav Johansson as Talbot, Tor Lind as Delil, and Andrea Hilario as the Acrobat. {…}
Conductor / Coach / Pianist Felix Jarrar is set to present a live public concert reading of “La Traviata” on Oct. 20, 2024 at New York City’s “The Church of the Village. The showcase will feature Michelle Trovato in the role of Violetta. She is joined by Matt Cerillo as Alfredo Germont and Joseph Canuto Leon as Giorgio Germont. Other {…}
Verdi’s 211th birthday will be celebrated on Oct. 10, 2024 at Verdi Square in New York City. The event, led by August Ventura, will be open to the public and will offer an opportunity for attendees to join in singing Verdi’s “Va pensiero.” The event will also feature the offering of 27 roses, one for each opera, at the base {…}
Chelsea Opera Group has announced its 2024-25 season. First up is a Puccini Centenary Concert featuring “Le villi,” “Capriccio Sinfonico,” and “Messa di Gloria.” The concert features Seljan Fermor-Hesketh, Charne Rochford, and Stephen Gass. Peter Robinson conducts. Performance Date: Nov. 2, 2024 Paul Wingfield conducts a concert performance of Lalo’s “Le Roy d’Ys.” Performance Date: March 30, 2025 Then comes a concert {…}
Opera Orlando has raised $100,000 for the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida The money was raised from its recent concert performance of “DEFIANT REQUIEM: Verdi at Terezín” on Sept. 14, 2024. The performance was sold out with more than 500 free tickets given to students and educators. “Words cannot express our immense gratitude to the Opera and {…}
(Credit: The Verdi Chorus) The Verdi Chorus is set to present “We Are Verdi Bizet” on Nov. 16 and 17, 2024 at the First Presbyterian Church in Santa Monica. The showcase will feature music from three Verdi operas – “I Lombardi,” “Don Carlo,” and “Rigoletto” – to go along with two Bizet classics – “Carmen” and “The Pearl Fishers.” Soloists {…}
(Credit: Marty Sohl) Throughout the entire history of opera, from its beginning in the Francophile 18th century to the American 21st, there have been numerous moments which stand out as having been controversial of their time and controversial even today due to the contentious nature of the events. If one looks to contemporary issues like Anna Netrebko’s alleged blackface while {…}