(Credit @Ennevi/Verona Arena Foundation) “Ernani” (1844), Verdi’s fifth opera, is possibly the finest of his early period. More than any of his preceding works, it marks a drastic change from bel canto operas of the time in two respects. Firstly, the libretto, until then of secondary importance, was pivotal, as bel canto was mostly about beautiful voices, especially the soprano’s. {…}
(Credit: Inés Bacher) A mysterious traveler climbed onto the stage, draped in a long garment. A burnished gold and bronze curtain rose slowly on her approach as she sought to enter it. Slowly, a second curtain began to rise. All was suspended, still. It seemed as if time began to peel away. We were elsewhere as well as right there. {…}
The Tiroler Festspiele Erl has announced its 2025-26 season. Autumn Season Holger Falk will perform alongside Herbert Schuch, Vivi Vassileva, and Musicbanda Franui. Performance Date: Oct. 2, 2025 Julian Prégardien, Herbert Schuch, and Musicbanda Franui will perform in concert. Performance Date: Oct. 3, 2025 Winter Season Johann Sebastian Bach’s Weihnachtsoratorium will be performed by Elisabeth Breuer, Ulrike Malotta, Gideon Poppe, {…}
Bass Vitalij Kowaljow has joined TACT for worldwide management. The bass has performed at such major organizations as the Met Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Bayerische Staatsoper, London Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Orquestra Nacional de España, among many others. “We are honored to welcome Vitalij Kowaljow to our agency’s roster, and we look forward to supporting {…}
The Bayerische Staatsoper has announced its 2024-25 season. Premieres Tobias Krazter directs a new production of Wagner’s “Das Rheingold” with Nicholas Brownlee, Milan Siljanov, Sean Panikkar, Markus Brück, Matthias Klink, Matthew Rose, Timo Riihonen, Ekaterina Gubanova, Mirjam Mesak, and Wiebke Lehmkuhl. Vladimir Jurowski conducts. Performance Dates: Oct. 27, 2024-July 31, 2025 Damiano Michieletto directs Donizetti’s “La Fille du Régiment” with {…}
(Credit: Karen Almond / Met Opera) The 350th performance of “Turandot” at the Met exceeded expectations with Ukrainian conductor Oksana Lyniv and Russian soprano Elena Pankratova making their house debuts and intentionally working together to deliver jaw-dropping moments of overwhelming musical beauty and power. The night also featured remarkable performances by South Korean tenor SeokJong Baek, Polish soprano Aleksandra Kurzak, {…}
The Metropolitan Opera is set to present Franco Zeffirelli’s production of Puccini’s “Turandot” for 17 performances. The production will showcase Ukrainian conductor Oksana Lyniv in her Met debut with two casts. The first cast will feature Elena Pankratova in the title role opposite tenor SeokJong Baek as Calàf. They will be joined by Aleksandra Kurzak as Liù and Vitalij Kowaljow {…}
Welcome back for this week’s look at the latest CD and DVD releases in the opera world. This week audiences are in for two full recordings of well-known works with some of the world’s greatest singers. There are also choral recoridngs and some less known works to discover. Heaven to Earth Signum Classics releases Heaven to Earth, a collection of singable, {…}
This week audiences will get a chance to listen to a tribute album to one of the greatest sopranos in history, two new DVDs and a soundtrack to one of this year’s most acclaimed films. The Distances Between SOMM Recordings releases “The Distances Between,” the second volume of songs – including 17 first recordings – by Stephen Dodgson marking the {…}
Photo: Marc Brenner Having an unequivocal passion for Puccini, this reviewer must confess to being somewhat conflicted over his final work. These concerns, though, have always been assuaged with the knowledge that many others have also been plagued with such uncertainty, not least with the original work itself, for, of course, the maestro died before the completion of “Turandot.” After {…}
The Semperoper Dresden has announced a cast change for its July 5 performance of Verdi’s “Aida.” The company noted that Sava Vemić will sing the role of Ramfis stepping in for Vitalij Kowaljow. Sava Vemić is a member of the ensemble at Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz and has performed at the New National Theatre Tokyo, Belgrade National Theater, Verbier Festival, The {…}
