“The crown! The crest! It’s the Attavanti’s!” Exclaimed the tempestuous diva Floria Tosca, as she paced about in a frenzied fit of jealousy after being led to believe by the scheming and lascivious Barron Scarpia that her lover, the painter and maverick Mario Cavaradossi, had been dallying with a Marchesa in the chapel. In fact, no such dalliance occurred, as {…}
Richard Strauss’ “Elektra” returned to the Metropolitan Opera on Thursday, March 1, 2018, in a hotly anticipated revival of Patrice Chéreau’s production. Last time out, the production was a smash hit, its stripped-down sets allowing for the audience to focus on the violent drama put before us. It continues to work in that vein, though its overall stillness might not {…}
On Thursday, the Metropolitan Opera announced that Yannick Nézet-Séguin will move into the position of Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer Music Director two seasons earlier than originally expected. He will assume the position in September and will be conducting three operas for the next two seasons before moving up to five per year in 2020-21. The three works he will lead in 2018-19 will {…}
The Philadelphia Orchestra has announced its 2018-19 season with numerous vocal guests. For this article, we will only focus only on the vocal highlights. The season opens with Yannick Nézet-Séguin leading the orchestra in Nico Muhly’s suite from his recent opera “Marnie” alongside pianist Andre Watts in Grieg’s Piano Concerto and Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances. Performance Dates: Sept. 14-16, 2018 On {…}
On Sept. 21, 2017, the Vienna State Opera will present Richard Strauss’ early masterwork “Salome” as part of its live streaming service. The performance kicks off at 8 p.m. local time and runs through 9:45 p.m. with no intermissions. The work will feature Gun-Brit Barkmin in the title role while Zeljko Lucic will play her obsession Jochanaan. As Herodias, audiences {…}
Yannick Nézet-Séguin has pulled out of the Vienna State Opera’s revival of “Salome.” According to a press release from the state opera, the conductor cancelled with a doctor’s note but no specific cause was stated. As a result, he will be replaced by Simone Young, who is rehearsing Prokofiev’s “The Gambler.” “Salome” is slated to star Željko Lučic, Gun-Brit Barkmin, Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke {…}
Deutsche Grammophon has announced Rolando Villazón’s new album. The CD entitled “Duets” will include Ildar Abdrazakov with Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conducting the Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain. “Duets” will include French and Italian opera duets for tenor and bass/baritone and is set for release in September. It marks the singers’ first album together and marks Abdrazakov’s debut on the yellow label. It also {…}
We’ve talked up the finest female performers. We’ve engaged in a discussion about the best men onstage. Now we shift over to the best conductors of the year, the artists that make the entire production work. In this edition, we only picked five, given that, unlike the other categories, there are far fewer to choose from. Here are our favorite {…}
We have gone through emotional anecdotes. We sifted through some of the essential nights in the new house’s history. Now we turn to the people that have made it great. In compiling a list of the 50 most influential people in the history of the new house, we realized rather early on that we would be leaving many people out {…}
Wagner’s first masterpiece “Der Fliegende Holländer” returns to the Metropolitan Opera on Tuesday, April 25 after a seven-year absence. Despite being well-known throughout the opera world, “The Flying Dutchman,” as translated in English, has had a rather interesting history at the Met marked by long hiatuses. The opera opened the 1889-1890 season in its first-ever performance. The cast that included {…}
The 12th annual OPERA NEWS Awards were handed out on April 9 at the Plaza Hotel. The operatic community gathered together to honor Robert Carsen, Matthew Polenzani, Christine Goerke, Yannick Nézet-Seguin and Frederica Von Stade. Several expected guests including Anna Netrebko, Patricia Racette, James Conlon and Nézet-Seguin however, were not in attendance. However, there was a surprise guest, Renée Fleming, {…}