(Credits: Kristen Hoebermann / ©Neda Navaee / Ray Burmiston/Decca Classics/ Deutsche Oper Berlin official website / Annika Schlicht official website) In times of massive uncertainty and heightened risks, the Deutsche Oper Berlin is taking on the gargantuan effort of staging the second opera of the cycle, “Die Walküre,” directed by Stefan Herheim. Herheim’s production of the iconic Wagner’s opera is {…}
(Credit: Simon Pauly) “The music is giving me what I need. Music has always given me what I needed in my life.” When the COVID-19 hurricane struck humanity in full force in March, tenor Martin Muehle was about to begin rehearsals for the supernatural opera “The Queen of Spades” at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. At that moment it was obvious {…}
The London Philharmonic Orchestra has canceled its upcoming Ring Cycle. The orchestra announced that “Götterdämmerung” will be programmed at the earliest time possible in order to complete the Orchestra’s first-ever Ring Cycle with Maestro Vladimir Jurowski. David Burke, Chief Executive of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, announced the news stating, “With deep regret and heartfelt sadness I must inform you that {…}
“Opera Meets Film” is a feature dedicated to exploring the way that opera has been employed in cinema. We will select a film section or a film in its entirety and highlight 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 Yukio {…}
(Credit: Staatsoper unter der Linden Facebook page) The Staatsoper unter der Linden in Berlin has announced changes to its 2020-21 season. The productions of Verdi’s “Macbeth,” Wagner’s “Tannhäuser,” and Britten’s “The Turn of The Screw” have been canceled, per an official press release. Instead, the opera house will offer three presentations of the gala concert “Viva Verdi!,” on Oct. 4, {…}
“Opera Meets Film” is a feature dedicated to exploring the way that opera has been employed in cinema. We will select a film section or a film in its entirety and highlight 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 Charles {…}
(Credit: Jonas Holthaus) “Nothing was produced for the bin.” When the COVID-19 pandemic hurricane hit the world in full force in March 2020, opera houses all over the world were struck badly. All of them were forced to cancel the rest of their 2019-20 seasons, and many new productions were taken off the stage. However, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the {…}
(Credit: holtenau.at) Austrian baritone Rudolf Holtenau has died in Vienna on August 30, at the age of 88. Holtenau, who born in Salzburg, sang a lots of role throughout his career, with an emphasis on Wagner operas. Holtenau began his vocal studies in Linz, and then moved to Vienna where he finished his professional education. He debuted in Klagenfurt, and {…}
(Credit: Ray Burmiston) “One voice in a million.” This is the kind of phrase on which legacies, mythologies, histories are built. And it’s the phrase that continues to crop up whenever Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen enters the operatic conversation. The soprano has definitely played her part in bringing about this idea that her voice is of a unique power. She {…}
(Credit: Rahvusooper Estonia) Estonian conductor Jüri Alperten has died at the age of 63, after a long illness. Alperten graduated from the Tallinn Conservatory in 1979 and was the Chief Conductor of the Estonian National Opera from 2002 to 2004; he was also the Chief Conductor of the Pärnu City Orchestra since 1998. Alperten had worked with several prominent orchestras, {…}
(Credit: Ashley Plante) When Berlin opera houses called off their performances in March due to the COVID 19 pandemic, one rarely performed opera was stopped dead in its track- the Komische Oper’s production of “Schwanda.” Among the artists set to star in that production was American soprano Sara Jakubiak. Jakubiak, who has appeared on the most important world stages, to {…}