Every weekend that draws ever closer to Christmas leaves more and more opera companies in hibernation. But there are still some that have plans for you this holiday season. Otello – Metropolitan Opera Verdi’s greatest masterpiece gets its opening performance of the season with superstar soprano Sonya Yoncheva as Desdemona. She is joined by Zeljko Lucic and tenor Stuart Skelton {…}
Where has all the opera gone? Thanksgiving means that most companies are closed for business, leaving few opera options overall. Not everyone is daunted by this, so here is a look at what you can engage with this holiday weekend. Roméo et Juliette – Calgary Opera Association On Friday, Calgary Opera Association will showcase the classic Gounod opera in a {…}
The Washington National Opera will celebrate the centennial of the WWI Armistice with Kevin Puts’s Pulitzer Prize-winning opera “Silent Night.” The acclaimed work based on the wartime ceasefire depicted in the Oscar-nominated ” Joyeux Noël” will feature current members and alumni from the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program and WNO Chorus. The cast will include Raquel González, Michael Adams, Aleksey Bogdanov, {…}
We have another six offerings this week because a number of companies are getting their season started. You’ll see two world premieres among this week mixed in with some repertory favorites. The Mile Long Opera: A Biography of 7 O’Clock – The High Line Looking for a unique experience in New York City? “The Mile-Long Opera” is probably going to {…}
Francesca Zambello will continue to be a major fixture at the Washington National Opera through the 2020-21 season. The famed director has extended her contract as Artistic Director for three more years following a unanimous vote by the WNO Board of Trustees. “Francesca has transformed WNO since her arrival, and her retention as artistic director was vital in serving the {…}
The Washington National Opera has announced a donation of $1.1 million from Clifford D. Thomson, a member of the Washington National Opera Chorus for 30 years. Thomson passed away May 6, 2016, in Naples, Florida, but his estate gift was just recently made known to the company. The chorister served the company from 1975 to 2006 and performed hundreds of times {…}
Ryan Speedo Green is set to make his recital debut at the Washington National Opera. The 2018 recipient of the Marian Anderson Vocal Award will give a recital as part of the award bestowed on him by the company. Adam Nielsen will accompany him in a recital that is set to include works by Wagner, Verdi, and Mahler, as well as the American composers Margaret {…}
The Washington National Opera is set to open its 2018–19 season with a new production of Verdi’s “La Traviata” by WNO Artistic Director Francesca Zambello. The new production will see the WNO debut of rising star Russian soprano Venera Gimadieva and will star alongside American tenor Joshua Guerrero. Acclaimed baritone Lucas Meachem will round out the cast as Germont. Former {…}
The Washington National Opera has announced its seventh season of its acclaimed American Opera Initiative (AOI) with four world premieres from Jan. 11–13, 2019, in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. The American Opera Initiative provides rare opportunities for emerging composers and librettists to partner and write for the opera stage. Program The AOI Festival weekend begins with the world premiere {…}
Race and ethnicity continue to vex the opera world in the same manner as they do the rest of society. If events at last week’s Opera America Conference are indicative of the industry, it’s a topic that requires further discussion at future conferences with no easy answers in sight. There were no fewer than five panels related to race and {…}
The Washington National Opera will celebrate the eleventh season of free opera broadcasts at Nationals Park with Opera in the Outfield on Saturday, Sept. 29, 2018. The evening will showcase Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville,” in high-definition on the Nationals Park scoreboard at 7 p.m. Hosted by WNO Artistic Director Francesca Zambello, the production directed by Peter Kazaras is set to {…}