(Credit: Julien Benhamou / ONP) Verdi’s “La Forza del Destino” is undeniably one of the most complex to stage. Not only is it a tremendous challenge for each of the major singers cast in the work, but it presents unique obstacles for any director who opts to take it on. The opera, despite being by one the greatest opera composers {…}
(Credit: © Marco Brescia & Rudy Amisano | Teatro alla Scala) Seeing an early or unfamiliar work by a major composer can be illuminating—hearing the development of a great talent in a lesser known opera can be as thrilling as a fine performance of a well loved standard. Or it can simply lay bare the piece’s weaknesses for all to {…}
The Vienna State Opera’s final live stream of the season will be a production of Verdi’s “Aida” on June 29, 2019. The epic opera will star Ekaterina Gubanova, Elena Guseva, Gregory Kunde, and Simone Piazzola. Marco Armiliato will conduct the production by Nicolas Joel. The stream kicks off at 7 p.m. local time and is slated to run until around {…}
The Academy of Vocal Arts has announced its 2019-20 season, which will celebrate the institution’s 85th anniversary. Opera The first opera of the year will be Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro,” which will be conducted by Maestro Christofer Macatsoris and directed by David Gately. Resident Artists will take on lead roles. Performance Dates: Nov. 9, 12, 16, 19, 21, 2019 {…}
Verdi’s “Otello” will be live streamed via the Vienna State Opera’s live streaming service on June 20, 2019. Verdi’s final tragedy will star Aleksandrs Antonenko in his signature role alongside soprano Olga Bezsmertna with Vladislav Sulimsky as Iago. Myung-Whun Chung will conduct a production that will be directed by Adrian Noble. The stream kicks off at 4 p.m. local time {…}
Two years ago, Benjamin Bernheim was a young artist performing light tenor roles and preparing to make the jump to some of the most important lyric operas in the repertory. He was an unknown and was still a member of the Opernhaus Zurich. But he had a perspective of where he wanted to be. “I knew I wanted to sing {…}
The Los Angeles Opera’s 2018-19 season closes this June with a return of Marta Domingo’s “Roaring ‘20s” production of Verdi’s “La Traviata.” On opening night, I found this an effective, straight, yet moving rendition of Verdi and Piave’s account of Violetta the courtesan, close to death, who is denied her one late-in-a-short-life chance of true love. Roaring 20s Of course, {…}
Tenor Jan Peerce was conductor Arturo Toscanini’s go-to tenor. He was born Jacob Pincus Perelmuth on June 3, 1904 and was raised in New York City as the third child of a family of Polish immigrants. He attended Columbia University and actually grew up playing the violin before eventually realizing that he was a lyric tenor. In 1932, he was {…}
For many artists, Verdi’s operas are the supreme pinnacle that they work towards. Getting there and being one of the foremost interpreters of his work often requires tremendous technique skill, but also great artistic maturity. For tenor Enea Scala, Verdi has always been a dream from the start of his career. While he has focused on the Bel Canto repertoire for {…}
Opera Meets Film” is a feature dedicated to exploring the way that opera has been employed in cinema. We will select a section or a film in its entirety, highlighting the impact that utilizing the operatic form or sections from an opera can alter our perception of a film that we are viewing. This week’s installment features Olivia Wilde’s comedy {…}
Moving from Bel canto to Verdi is a common thread for most young singers. Verdi is the dream as his works are some of the masterworks of the canon. For Enea Scala, the dream of singing Verdi is coming true as he starts to take on his third opera by the composer. After singing Alfredo in “La Traviata” and Fenton {…}
