May 1, 1786. That is the day that, for many, the greatest opera of all-time had its very first performance. “Le Nozze di Figaro” has held the stage ever since, performed by all the great interpreters all over the world. The work has also developed a healthy discography over the ages both on audio and visual media, making it impossible {…}
The Philadelphia Orchestra has announced its 2019-20 season with Yannick Nézet-Séguin celebrating his eighth season as music director. Here is a look at the vocal highlights for the orchestra next season. Nézet-Séguin and the Fabulous Philadelphians launch the 120th season with an Opening Night Concert and Gala featuring legendary opera singer Plácido Domingo. The evening, which marks the start of Nézet-Séguin’s {…}
The Opéra de Montréal has announced its 2019-20 season featuring five staged operas and an opera in concert version. The season will open with Tchaïkovsky’s “Eugene Onegin” with real-life couple Etienne Dupuis and Nicole Car as Onegin and Tatiana. They will be accompanied by tenor Owen McCausland, mezzo Carolyn Sproule, bass Denis Sedov, mezzo Christiane Bélanger, with a guest appearance {…}
The Metropolitan Opera revealed its 2019-20 season on Wednesday afternoon. Among the major announcements were the company’s schedule for its ever-popular Live in HD slate. Here is a look at the list of performances that will be broadcast to audiences around the world. Worthy of note is that of the 10 productions set to screen in cinemas, three will be {…}
Bravo! Vail, one of the world’s premier music festivals, has announced its first original opera production, a new, fully-staged production of Puccini’s “Tosca.” The production custom-designed for the outdoor Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater is set to be lead by Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Bravo! Vail Festival Chorus, and the Colorado Children’s Chorus. Julianna Di Giacomo sings the title {…}
Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra are set to go on tour in China. The Philadelphia Orchestra announced that the orchestra and its music director will perform throughout Beijing, Tianjin, Hangzhou, Nanjing, and Shanghai, with Shanghai-born pianist Haochen Zhang as soloist. It will mark the 12th time the orchestra performs in the country. The scheduled trip will also coincide with {…}
Debussy’s masterwork “Pelléas et Mélisande” is one of the most glorious operas ever written. Its melodies are elusive, but when performed at its maximum expression, it can wrap you up and transport you to a different state in a way only few other operas can. It is truly a masterwork. The Metropolitan Opera produced the work for the first time {…}
Audiences who wanted something more traditional visually will be happy with this new “Traviata,” though one hopes that the clumsiness of the staging and the exaggerated color scheme of the costumes will get some sort of revisions for future iterations.
This has been a major week for the Metropolitan Opera. Not only did it launch a new podcast and open its new production of Verdi’s “La Traviata,” but it also kickstarted conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s tenure as its music director. In celebration of the maestro’s new beginning, the company is also releasing some highlights from the composer’s career to this point. {…}
The Metropolitan Opera will open a new production of Verdi’s “La Traviata” on Monday, Dec. 4, 2018. The new production is hotly anticipated for a number of reasons. First off, it represents the first opera under new Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin. The maestro will be doing his second run of “La Traviata” with the company. He previously conducted seven performances {…}
A week after announcing a future overhaul to its season, the Metropolitan Opera has made more announcements revealing the company’s continued change in direction. The latest news? The company is set to commission new operas that it will look to feature in spaces outside of Lincoln Center. Per the New York Times, for the first time in its history, the {…}