(Credit: Jesús Cornejo/Cortesía) The Orquesta Del Teatro De Bellas Artes in Mexico City has announced that conductor and counter-tenor Iván López-Reynoso has been appointed its new Artistic Director. López-Reynoso also holds the position of the Chief Guest Conductor of the Oviedo Filarmonía. “Being the next Artistic Director of Orquesta Del Teatro De Bellas Artes is the greatest honor I have {…}
OperaStreaming has announced its December slate. Things kick off with the streaming service set to present a production of Massenet’s “Werther” from the Teatro Comunale di Modena. The opera stars Veronica Simeoni as Charlotte with Francesco Demuro as Werther and Guido Dazzini as Albert. Maria Rita Combattelli rounds out the cast as Sophie. Francesco Pasqualetti conducts with Stefano Vizioli directing. {…}
As I was going to the first performance of “Werther,” a drame lyrique by Jules Massenet, I was glad that I would finally listen to Piotr Beczała live in this role, which he has performed for 25 years. Nevertheless, as I entered Teatr Wielki – the Polish National Opera, I was also a bit concerned that I was about to {…}
Simon Keenlyside has withdrawn from Massenet’s “Werther” at the Opéra National de Lyon. The baritone withdrew from the concert performance, which was scheduled for Nov. 20 in order to join the Royal Opera House’s concert performance of “Falstaff.” As a result, Piero Pretti will perform the title role in Massenet’s opera. Keenlyside is known for his interpretation as Ford in {…}
(Credit: Emilie Brouchon) This week the Polish National Opera will open a new production of Massenet’s “Werther” by Willy Decker. The production was originally set to open in May of 2020 but was canceled due to the coronavirus. Now the company has lined up an extraordinary group of soloists including Piotr Beczala, who returns to his country to sing one {…}
(Credit: The Metropolitan Opera official website) In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, The Metropolitan Opera’s HD Live in Schools program has launched an online series for the 2020–21 school year. For the upcoming school year, all students and teachers will receive free subscriptions to the Met Opera on Demand streaming service. A total of ten operas have been selected {…}
(Image source: YouTube) Dutch mezzo-soprano Cora Canne Meijer passed away on August 25, 2020, at the age of 91. Cora Canne Meijer graduated from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. The mezzo-soprano debuted in 1950 with the Nederlandse Opera (now De Nationale Opera) in the role of Annina in Verdi’s “La Traviata.” During her first year at the Nederlandse Opera, Meijer sang {…}
(Credit: Oliver Ostermann/Brian Cheney) Austrian Composer Oliver Ostermann and American Tenor Brian Cheney have teamed up during the COVID-19 pandemic to create the album “ I Sang My Heart to the Moon.” The album features eight pieces in total with lyricist and acclaimed poet Nancy Fitz-Hugh Meneely offering up poetry suited for this time. “Love Apart,” “I Sang My Heart {…}
(Photo Credit: Lichtgut/Christoph Schmidt/Christoph Schmidt) Staatsoper Stuttgart has announced its 2020-21 season, which is reduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here is the look. Mozart and Schikaneder’s famed singspiel “Die Zauberflöte” will open the season. The cast will include David Steffens and Michael Nagl in the role of Sarastro; Mingjie Lei and Kai Kluge in the role of Tamino; Beate {…}
(Image Source: New National Theatre Tokyo Official Website) The New National Theatre, Tokyo has announced its streaming program for the month of June. It all kicks off on June 5 with Mozart’s “Die Zauberflöte” with a cast that includes Sava Vemic, Steve Davilim, Yoko Yasui, Masako Hayashi, Andrè Schuen, Kane Kushima, and Tadahir Masujima. Roland Böer conducts. The performance will {…}
In Italy, Verdi and Puccini are the great representatives of Italian opera. In Germany, it’s Wagner and Strauss. In France? It’s hard to argue against anyone but Massenet. But what’s curious about the great composer’s output is that while he was rather bounteous in his creation, only a handful of operas actually became major staples. “Manon,” “Werther,” “Thaïs.” You could {…}
