Anna Netrebko has announced that she will sing Verdi’s “Nabucco.” During a conversation with Mary Jo Heath, the soprano revealed that she has plans to do the role of Abigaille from Verdi’s “Nabucco” in a few years. While she gave no details on where she would be singing the role, Netrebko did confirm that she is excited to sing Strauss’ {…}
Rita Orlandi has passed away at the age of 79. The Italian soprano, who died on April 8, 2017, had a major international career from the 1960s through the 1980s and was very acclaimed for her Verdi heroines. She made her professional stage debut in Milan in 1963 at the Teatro Nuovo as Giovanna in Verdi’s “Giovanna d’Arco.” Orlandi was {…}
Over the last few weeks, major opera houses around the world have announced their offerings for 2017-18. Now Opera Tampa has now joined the fray, revealing three major works. To kick off their sixth season, Opera Tampa will showcase Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville” on Feb. 2, 2018, with a second performance on Feb. 4, 2018, at the Carol Morsani Hall. {…}
Friday night at the Metropolitan Opera was the last time that audiences would get a chance to see Willy Decker’s production of Verdi’s “La Traviata.” The powerful vision that first came to see the light of the world in Salzburg over 10 years ago is in and of itself a long goodbye, an intricate look at how a woman says {…}
The Easter and Passover holidays seem to have frozen up the opera world this weekend with only a handful of performances featured around the country. It’s a major turnaround from last weekend when a dozen companies were putting on a show. The Metropolitan Opera continues its unstoppable season with three performances. Friday is the final hurrah for Willy Decker’s production {…}
On first glance, you would never find the commonalities between Monserrat Caballé and Lily Pons. The two sopranos, one Spanish and the other French-American, are known for distinctly different repertoire. The former had a wide range that saw her dominate both bel canto and dramatic repertoire while the latter was best known for more delicate roles, particularly in her native {…}
The Bilbao Opera has announced its 2017-18 Season with five operas. The season begins on Oct. 21 with Verdi’s “I Masnadieri” starring Carmen Giannattasio in her Bilbao debut. It also marks the first time in 12 seasons since the opera was last performed in Bilbao and will be presented in a production by Leo Muscato that first at the Teatro Regio {…}
I preface this by stating that this review is for the performance on March 31, 2017. I would also like to recognize that this is just one, performance of a seven-performance run. In an ideal situation, I would attend every performance and write a detailed review of the overall work. As it stands, I can only go on my perspective of one performance. Despite being such a familiar opera, {…}
This year marks the 50th year in business for Opera Grand Rapids. They just released their 2017-18 schedule and it’s packed with such a variety of opera events! “Balance is our programming mantra for the season,” Maestro James Meena, Opera Grand Rapids artistic director said. “We strive to create season schedules that include the familiar as well as the new.” {…}
With much anticipation, the New Amsterdam Opera is bringing “La Forza del Destino” back to the stage in New York City after a long absence. “We believe that this work has not been performed in New York City in at least ten years,” said Keith Chambers, artistic director. This rare concert performance will happen on Friday, March 24th in Manhattan {…}
The Opera Royal de Wallonie will live stream Verdi’s “Jérusalem,” a rarely staged work, on March 23. The opera is conducted by the young and talented conductor Speranza Scappucci and stars Marc Laho, Elaine Alvarez, Roberto Scandiuzzi, Ivan Thirion, Pietro Picone, Natacha Kowalski and Patrick Delcour. This is the first time that the company is performing the Verdi opera in its history, and since its premiere on March {…}