The Palau de la Musica Catalana has announced its 2020-21 season featuring some of the greatest singers and choruses in the world. For the purposes of this article, vocal performances are highlighted. Marta Mathéu, Gemma Coma-Alabert, David Alegret, and Joan Martín-Royo are joined by pianists Jordi Armengol and Francisco Poyato for a program of Brahms. Performance Date: Sept. 17, 2020 {…}
The Florentine Opera has announced its 2020-21 season featuring four productions and a number of concerts. The season opens with Verdi’s “Rigoletto” starring Todd Thomas in the title role, Jessica Jones, Scott Quinn, Alan Higgs, and Olivia Vote. Omer Ben Seadia directs the production with Francesco Milioto conducting. Performance Dates: Oct. 9 & 11, 2020 Weill’s “Little Mahagonny” will showcase Emily {…}
Bayreuth Baroque has announced its 2020 program, which will focus mainly on the works from the period of the late Baroque that have never or hardly been performed. For the purpose of this article we will focus only on vocal works. The new production of Drama Per Musica “Carlo il Calvo” by Nicola Antonio Porpora will feature Julia Lezhneva, Max {…}
(Photo: Innsbrucker Festwochen/Rupert Larl) In 1732, “Merope” was premiered at the Turin carnival. It was written by the now little known composer Riccardo Broschi to a libretto by Apostolo Zeno. The complex plot is typical of the period, in which a usurper, Polifonte, has taken the throne of Messene, after having murdered its King, Cresfonte, and his children. Such an {…}
The Fondazione I Teatri Reggio Emilia has announced its 2019-20 season. Francesca Dotto takes on the title role in Donizetti’s “Lucrezia Borgia” in a production by Andrea Bernard from the Donizetti Opera Festival. The cast will also include Marko Mimica, Francesco Castoro, and Varduhi Abrahamyan. Carla Delfrate conducts the production. Performance Dates: Dec. 6 & 8, 2019 The second production of the {…}
The Helpmann Awards have announced their 2019 nomination, which envelop all performing arts. However, our main focus will be on the opera nominees. The awards will be presented on July 14 and 15, 2019. The nominees for Best Opera are Arts Projects Australia, Adelaide Festival, and Perth Festival’s “The Magic Flute;” “Opera Australia’s “Wozzeck” and “Metamorphosis,” and Pinchgut Opera’s “Artaserse.” {…}
The Salzburg Whitsun Festival has announced its 2020 season, which will place a special focus on Pauline Viardot-Garcia. Opera The season kicks of with “Don Pasquale,” which will star Cecilia Bartoli, Peter Kálmán, Nicola Alaimo, and Javier Camarena. Les Musiciens du Prince-Monaco will be conducted by Gianluca Capuano. Performance Date: May 29, June 1, 2020 Gluck’s “Orphée” will be performed {…}
The Theater an der Wien has announced its 2019-20 season featuring numerous rarely performed works, concert operas and a number of new productions. Opera Productions David Afkham conducts Amélie Niermeyer’s new production of Dvorak’s “Rusalka.” Maria Bengtsson sings the title role alongside Ladislav Elgr, Günther Groissböck, Natascha Petrinsky, and Kate Aldrich. Performance Dates: Sept. 19 – 30, 2019 Stefan Gottfried conducts Sam Brown’s production of Mozart’s {…}
The Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts has announced its 2019 summer season, which will feature some of the greatest vocal performers in the world. While the program includes a plethora of instrumental music and performances, our focus for the purposes of this article will be to highlight singers and any opera productions. First up will be “Versaille: Portrait {…}
“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 Gregory Hoblit’s “Fracture.” {…}
Pinchgut Opera and Vivica Genaux are teaming up for two major productions in Sydney and Melbourne. Per a press release, the mezzo will appear in Sydney to perform in the first-ever Australian production of Hasse’s “Artaserse,” before heading to Melbourne for a recital of baroque composers for one night only. The mezzo will be joined by countertenors David Hansel and {…}