Zubin Mehta is retiring from the Israel Philharmonic, ending a lengthy relationship. The announcement, according to The Jerusalem Post, was made Monday and confirmed that Mehta would end his nearly 50 years with the ensemble in October 2019. The 80-year-old Indian-born conductor made numerous recordings with the group throughout his tenure, including a legendary recording of a live performance of {…}
The Cuban Hebrew Congregation-Temple Beth Shmuel of Miami Beach is slated to showcase a gala tribute concert honoring the late legend Robert Merrill for his 100th birthday on Jan. 8, 2017. The performance will feature Rabbi / Cantor Stephen Texon and Hazzan Alberto Mizrahi. The former is of the Cuban Hebrew Congregation while the latter is from the Anshe Emet {…}
The 2017-18 season for the Paris National Opera was leaked online before the company ensured that the information taken offline. Despite the quick action from the Paris Opera, the information was online long enough to learn about the new engagements and that information currently resides on the blog Opera Critiques by David Le Marrec. Opening night at the Bastille will {…}
This review is for the final performance of the run on Dec. 18, 2017 and was written in collaboration with Francisco Salazar. How do you get younger audiences to engage with that “old” and “outdated” art form known as opera? That is the eternal question for the major opera houses around the world as they look to find a viable {…}
This review is for the performance on Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. Verdi’s famed overture for his first masterwork “Nabucco” starts off with a few brass calls followed by a massive explosion of sound a few bars later. From there Verdi’s music traverses the contrast between a glorious melody clamoring for peace and one of military drive. It is this contrast between {…}
Joseph Calleja has revealed that he is recording a new Verdi album for Decca. The tenor revealed that a Verdi album was in the works via his Twitter account on Wednesday. “Recording today our Verdi Album in Valencia with #vittoriovitelli #ramontebar,” he wrote. On Thursday, he put a picture on Instagram alongside famed Romanian soprano Angela Gheorghiu stating “Today recording {…}
LoftOpera’s “Macbeth” has garnered tremendous reviews for its fantastic casting, nuanced production and brilliant music-making. “The crisp orchestral playing of the orchestra under the baton of Sean Kelly was highlighted by an atmospheric account of the first act prelude, with portentous horn fanfares seeming to “hang” forever in the vast space’s cavernous acoustic,” wrote the New York Observer. Despite being {…}
The Metropolitan Opera will premiere Verdi’s early masterpiece “Nabucco” on Monday December 12 in a performance featuring legendary tenor-turned-baritone Placido Domingo. The Performers This series of six performances will be Domingo in the title role at the Met after he successfully performed it at the Royal Opera House. The performance was released on DVD. Domingo has showcased a number of {…}
The repertoire for Anna Netrebko and Yusif Eyvazov’s Feb. 27 concert in Paris has been announced with numerous surprises. After performing a number of concerts featuring verismo repertoire, this upcoming concert will feature Verdi in the first half. The soprano will return to arias from “La Traviata” a few days before her farewell performances of the role at the Teatro {…}
Few will ever overlook Verdi’s “Nabucco.” While the venerable composer undoubtedly surpassed his third opera, “Nabucco,” based on the biblical story, put the composer on the map in a way in a number of ways. It was his first breakthrough, coming at a time when the then 28-year-old was still reeling from the death of his entire nuclear family and {…}
On Wednesday, Dec. 7, the legendary Teatro all Scala opens its 2016-17 season with Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly.” The opera stars rising star Maria Jose Siri, Bryan Hymel and Carlos Alvarez and is led by music director Riccardo Chailly. The opening continues La Scala’s tradition of inaugurating the season on Dec. 7 and continues Chailly’s Puccini cycle, which he began back {…}