The Bregenzer Festspiele has announced its 2020 season, featuring a lineup of opera and vocal performances. Running from July 22, 2020, to August 23, the festival will be celebrating its 75th anniversary with a diverse and ambitious program. Among the operatic works are Verdi’s “Rigoletto”. Opening July 23, this popular production, directed by Philipp Stolzi and conducted by Enrique Mazzola, {…}
Star Russian soprano Hibla Gerzmava performed a recital program featuring art song compositions by Glinka, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Prokofiev sprinkled with a dramatic dash of Donizetti and Verdi on Nov. 1, 2019 at Carnegie Hall. Her appearance was not without controversy. To get to the main entrance, recital-goers needed to push past Pro-Ukrainian activists lining the sidewalk and holding placards in {…}
There were high expectations surrounding the return of superstar Anna Netrebko to the Teatro Real were she had participated in Prokófiev’s “War and Peace” in 2001. The result was a mixture of excitement and disappointment: Firstly, there was the usual imposition of her husband Yusif Eyvazov in the program, a good singer who does not reach the quality and artistic {…}
(Credit: Matthew Staver) Baritone Malcolm MacKenzie loves playing the bad guys. On his website he notes that Scarpia, the villainous police chief who sexually harasses Tosca before being murdered, is his favorite role. Another of his favorites is the conniving Iago and he was even the first man to take on the role of the vengeful Roger Chillingworth in the {…}
(Credits: Vincent Pontet/ Opéra National de Paris) When I saw Krzysztof Warlikowski’s new production of my favorite Verdi’s opera “Don Carlos” online two years ago, I was deeply disappointed. Even a “dream cast” couldn’t save it for me. Growing in Russian theatres I believed the famed Chekhov expression that “if there’s a gun on stage, it should eventually shoot.” And {…}
UPDATE: This review has been updated to include information about new features. When thinking about how we consume music these days, it is hard to question the fact that we live in a “Spotify World.” The famed subscriber service has dominated the online community with its access to a wide range of music of all kinds and from all places. {…}
(Credit: Pedro Walter) The Vienna State Opera will live stream “Macbeth” on Nov. 1, 2019. The Verdi work will feature the return of Plácido Domingo to the theater for the first time since being accused of sexual misconduct in the United States. The Vienna State Opera stated openly that it would support Domingo in his upcoming contracts, which included his {…}
(Credit: Vincent Pontet/ ONP) Audiences that went to check out Verdi’s “Don Carlo” at the Opéra de Paris this Friday on opening night wound up seeing two tenors in the leading role. Roberto Alagna was one of the star attractions of the production as he was set to appear in the famed opera alongside his wife Aleksandra Kursak. But Alagna, {…}
(Credit: Alexey Kostromin) When you think of Verdi mezzo, there are few singers that fit that bill as well as Russian artist Ekaterina Semenchuk. For years now, she has been the go-to mezzo-soprano in Verdi’s major roles, finding major triumphs at such venues as the Opéra National de Paris, the Teatro Real de Madrid, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, the {…}
Legendary baritone Leo Nucci has announced that he is set to retire from the stage. Per Platea and a number of other sources, the baritone announced that he would no longer perform onstage after receiving the Pavarotti d’oro on Oct. 17, 2019. I had already decided to let the curtain drop, but in honor of the memory of my friend {…}
Over the years, Polish soprano Aleksandra Kurzak has been moving into more dramatic and lyrical roles. After starting her career singing coloratura and Bel Canto roles like “Lucia di Lammoor” and the roles of Rossini, the soprano has continued to expand her repertoire, engaging with more Puccini and Verdi operas, among other heavier repertory. After taking on the role of {…}