Verdi’s “I Vespri Siciliani” is something of an oddity. Composed on the heels of his famous trilogy of “Rigoletto,” “Il Trovatore,” and “La Traviata,” and with a premiere on June 13, 1855, one might have expected that the composer would have up the ante. “Verdi” was excited about the possibility of conquering Paris after coming into such massive artistic maturity, {…}
Jan Peerce and Neil Shicoff are two of the great tenors in the history of opera, and they were born just one day—and 45 years—apart. Peerce’s birthday is on June 3, 1904, while Shicoff’s is June 2, 1949. If you’ve read our previous work, you know what to expect here: an examination of the operas and composers that united these {…}
What do you do when your lead soprano cancels your production? You cancel the show and put on a concert of excerpts. That is exactly what the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, did when soprano Kristin Lewis, singing the role of Elisabetta, was taken to the hospital a few hours before the performance. Since the company did not have another {…}
New York City Opera will continue its relationship with Bryant Park this summer, featuring a number of productions. The company kicked off this series last week with “Los Elementos,” but there will be an encore performance on May 30, 2017. OperaWire reviewed a previous performance of the opera, writing, “In general, it was a great performance and City Opera can {…}
Valencia’s Palau de les Arts has announced its 2017-18 season which will feature nine operas. The first of the bunch will be Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly,” starting on October 11 and running for five performances. The opera will feature a new production by Emilio López. Liana Aleksanyan plays the doomed heroine. Gluck’s “Le Cinesi” follows up with a performance on Nov. {…}
Verdi’s “Otello” will appear at the Madison Lyric Stage this summer. The famous masterwork will be showcased on June 16, 17, 23 and 25 at the North Madison Congregational Church in Madison, CT. Taking on the notoriously challenging title role will be tenor Marc Deaton who has appeared all over the world and has made four recordings, including Wagner’s “Tristan {…}
Michael Fabiano has steadily grown into one of the most sought after tenors in the world. From the first time, he appeared at the Metropolitan Opera’s Met National Council Auditions to his fiery Met debut, the young singer has shown so much passion on stage that reminds one of the golden age. But there is one composer that he has {…}
“It’s like having a crime and then trying to justify it and find why it was committed.” That is how soprano Marina Rebeka, currently making her role debut as Donna Elvira at the Metropolitan Opera, approaches every single opera role or artistic endeavor she takes on. The soprano recently spoke with OperaWire regarding her upcoming projects, putting a spotlight on {…}
The Royal Danish Opera has announced its 2017-18 season with a varied repertoire. The opera season opens on Sept. 9, 2017, with a new production of Verdi’s “Rigoletto” starring Johan Reuter in the title character. David Kempster alternates with Reuter as Paolo Carignani conducts the run. The following production will be Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” with Elizabeth Llewellyn in the title {…}
Verdi was one of the most prolific composers in the history of opera. Spanning five decades, the composer created two dozen operas among other compositions. And yet he left many works unfinished and abandoned, most famously his “Re Lear.” For years no one has known anything about that work, but that might just change with the announcement that 5,300 pages {…}
When you hear the name Leonard Warren, you always hear another name – Verdi. The baritone, born on April 21, 1911, was dedicated to the great Italian and practically sang every great baritone role that Verdi wrote. You name it. For many, he was the ultimate Rigoletto (he performed the opera 89 times at the Metropolitan Opera), while others will {…}