Welcome back for this week’s look at the latest CD and DVD releases in the opera world. This week several complete recordings will be released, as well as a unique take on Beethoven ‘s Symphony No. 9. Janáček: Katya Kabanova The second release in LSO Live’s cycle of Janáček opera recordings is “Katya Kabanova.” The album’s cast includes the superb {…}
New Jersey Opera Theater has announced its upcoming 2023-24 season. The season kicks off with “Night of Opera by Richard Wagner.” Audiences will hear arias from the composer’s famed works as performed by New York Dramatic Voices. The showcase will take place at the Union County Performing Arts Center. Performance Date: Sept. 30, 2023 That will be followed up by performances {…}
(Photo credit: © Enrico Nawrath) Nathalie Stutzman debuted at Bayreuth this season with the festival’s production of “Tannhäuser.” She emerged triumphantly from the mystical abyss of the Bayreuth orchestra pit, where the conductor and the orchestra are hidden from the public. This unique orchestra space was designed as per Wagner’s specifications, who had been striving to create an immersive experience {…}
An art installation at the Bayreuth Festival featuring over 100 golden Wagners has gone missing. Per Art News, the piece, entitled “You’re Welcome,” which features 115 gold-painted statues of the Richard Wagner, each standing 19-inches tall, “mysteriously disappeared.” Per the report, the artist Ottmar Hörl, who calculates that “You’re Welcome” is worth around €12,000 ($13,200), believes that the pieces were {…}
(Photo: Sofia Opera & Ballet) After a very successful performance of “Die Walküre,” expectations were running high for Sofia Opera & Ballet’s production of “Siegfried,” the third opera in the company’s latest Ring Cycle. Unfortunately, however, it fell short of the standards set by the two preceding operas, “Das Rheingold” and “Die Walküre,” and was dwarfed by the excellent presentation {…}
(Photo © Rikimaru Hotta) When he was 10-years-old, Kazushi Ōno went to the opera for the first time. What opera did he witness? “La Traviata.” He was hooked. This led him to study at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music before he headed off to Germany to study as a scholar of the Japanese Ministry of Culture {…}
(Photo: Marc Brenner) “Tristan und Isolde” isn’t an opera generally known for its laughs. Indeed, sniggers from the audience generally indicates that something has gone drastically wrong in the direction department with this particular work. But in the this new production from Grange Park Opera, just outside of London, a sprinkling of giggles and smiles are testament to the zippy {…}
Singapore’s Orchestra of the Music Makers is set to present Wagner’s “Das Rheingold” on July 8, 2023 at the Esplanade Concert Hall. The semi-staged production will be directed by Tang Xinxin with Joshua Kangming Tan conducting the performance. The famed Wagner opera will star Teng Xiang Ting as Woglinde, Victoria Songwei Li as Wellgun, Anna Harvey as Floßhilde and Erda, {…}
On May 30, 2023, the Metropolitan Opera revived François Girard’s production of “Der Fliegende Holländer” for the first time since March 2020 when… we all know what happened. While a lot has changed since then, one thing that has remained is that this production still doesn’t match up to Girard’s best work (“Parsifal”) and even less now that he recently {…}
The Wagner in Vermont Festival 2023, organized by TUNDI Productions, is scheduled to take place in Brattleboro, VT, in August 2023. “Die Walküre” will star Alan Schneider as Siegmund, Charles D. Martin as Wotan, Sondra Kelly as Fricka, Roseanne Ackerley as Sieglinde, Kirk Eichelberger as Hunding, and Jenna Rae as Brünnhilde, among others. Performance Date: August 18 & 22, 2023 {…}
Wagner had been absent from Valencia’s Palau de les Arts for 10 years. So it is understandable that its return, especially with “Tristan und Isolde,” was a reason for great anticipation and expectation. What’s more, tickets were almost sold out for every performance, and the reception at the curtain call was loud and enthusiastic. Evocative & Original Àlex Ollé, a {…}