Emboldened by witches’ prophesies and with strong encouragement from his wife, Macbeth turns into a power-thirsty man who uses violence to annihilate everything in his way to seize Scotland’s throne. Verdi’s ominous score is enhanced by dramatic stage effects: dark sets punctuated by thunder and lightning; ghostly appearances of witches and three demonic children; bloodied bodies rising from the dead. Although the murders are all swiftly carried out, David McVicar‘s COC/Chicago co-production delivers a longing sense of foreboding and some genuinely frightening moments. What you missed There was all-round good singing from the male leads. American baritone Quinn Kelsey’s debut…
Browsing: Opera
New York, NY (April 23, 2023)—The Met proudly presents the winners of the 2023 Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition: tenor Anthony León, mezzo-soprano Natalie Lewis, soprano Teresa Perrotta, mezzo-soprano Sarah Saturnino, bass-baritone Christian Simmons, and soprano Meredith Wohlgemuth. After a season-long series of competitions at the district, regional, and national levels, a panel of expert judges named these six singers as the winners, each receiving a $20,000 cash prize and the prestige and exposure that come with winning a competition that has launched the careers of many of opera’s biggest stars. The 2023 winners, their ages, the regions…
APRIL 21, 2023, VANCOUVER, B.C. – Traditional territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations – Vancouver Opera is excited to announce the 2023–2024 season. In October, Mozart’s The Magic Flute will begin the season followed by Donizetti’s Don Pasquale in February 2024. Closing the season will be Bizet’s much loved opera Carmen for five performances in April and May 2024. “We are excited to present an incredible season of opera “classics” to expose our great art form to new audiences,” said Tom Wright, Vancouver Opera General Director. “Two of the operas have not been seen in over…
New York, NY (April 19, 2023)—Following this week’s semifinal competition, ten singers have advanced to the final round of the 2023 Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition. The finalists will compete on the Met stage on Sunday, April 23, at 3PM ET, hosted by Latonia Moore, the 2000 Grand Finals–winning soprano and star of the Met’s new production of Terence Blanchard’s Champion. Chosen by a panel of opera administrators from the Met and other companies, each finalist will perform two arias accompanied by the Met Orchestra, conducted by Michele Gamba. The winners will receive individual cash prizes of $20,000,…
New York, NY (April 19, 2023) —The Metropolitan Opera has named bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green the winner of the 2023 Beverly Sills Artist Award, the second time that Green has received this honor. Previously, Green shared the award with four other artists in 2021, the season that had been canceled due to the pandemic. The annual $50,000 award recognizes extraordinarily gifted singers with rising Met careers. Established in 2006 by an endowment gift from the late Agnes Varis, a former Met Board member, the award is given in honor of legendary American soprano Beverly Sills. Most recently at the Met,…
Toronto, ON – The Association for Opera in Canada (AOC) is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2023 edition of its New Canadian Works Pitch Program, which is funded by the Azrieli Foundation. This program provides an opportunity for artists, creators, and producers to discuss their works with potential producers, co-producers, co-commissioners and presenters. The finalists were selected by a jury based on artistic merit, sectoral impact, project viability, and market viability/program fit. The finalists are as follows: Likht Ensemble, Toronto: “Jewish Space Lasers,” a one-hour cabaret style theatrical piece exploring the experience of Jewish artists in classical music.…
Verdi’s opera Falstaff is an amazing achievement for a man nearly 80 years old. It is also remarkable for being Verdi’s first comic opera, and for being like Otello, the opera which preceded it, a through-composed opera lacking set piece arias and ensembles. Even in his 70s, and the most celebrated opera composer of his time, Verdi was experimenting with new ways to write an opera. Unfortunately, modern producers and directors can’t leave well enough alone and let a Verdi masterpiece speak for itself in all its magic and beauty. Gripes In this case, producer Robert Carsen has decided that…
In 2019, Russian-Canadian composer Airat Ichmouratov teamed up with librettist, poet and writer Bertrand Laverdure to bring to life the favourite novel of his youth: The Man Who Laughs, based on the timeless tale of legendary playwright Victor Hugo. For both men, this is their first foray into opera, and for Ichmouratov, this will be his 75th opus. Ichmouratov’s love and obsession for the novel began at the age of 16 after his brother had gifted him a copy. “I was immediately captivated by the story of love and betrayal,” said Ichmouratov. Laverdure added: “Working on an unadaptable 800-page novel…
The history of opera in Quebec begins a new chapter this year with the arrival of Nouvel Opéra Métropolitain (NOM). In its upcoming 13th edition, Festival Classica paves the way for the future by introducing a most promising and ambitious component in its program devoted to this genre, with no less than three original productions—two of which are world premières: L’Homme qui rit (2023), L’adorable Belboul (1874) and Miguela (1891). New opera, new venue The festival team and its joint artistic and managing director Marc Boucher have worked out an agreement unlike any other with the venue, the Salle Claude-Champagne.…
Toronto – The Canadian Opera Company welcomes four new cast members for its spring season, stepping in for sopranos Sondra Radvanovsky and Olga Busuioc who must regrettably withdraw for personal and health reasons, respectively. Bulgarian soprano Alexandrina Pendatchanska and Ukrainian soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska will now share the role of Lady Macbeth in the COC’s production of the classic Verdi opera. In addition, Irish soprano Sinéad Campbell-Wallace and American soprano Keri Alkema will share the title role in Puccini’s Tosca. “The nature of opera as a living art form means that, occasionally, life off stage will impact artists’ planned performances on stage,”…