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Joyce DiDonato and Michael Spyres Bring Vocal Glamor and Dramatic Insight to John Nelson’s Long-Awaited Recording of Berlioz’s Les Troyens – Opera Today
My apologies for not having thought to post this review online earlier. The recording was made back in 2017, and I reviewed it for American Record Guide. I should have thought to offer it to
Proms 2025: Fabio Luisi and his Danish Forces Serve Up a Bright and Breezy Beethoven 9 – Opera Today
Given that Beethoven’s final symphony normally has a playing time of just over an hour, what can you sensibly pair with it in the first half? Something else by Beethoven, perhaps the Choral Fantasy? A
Proms 2025: A Mass of Life outlined in all its sumptuous beauty – Opera Today
Hailed by many commentators as a choral masterpiece, Delius’s A Mass of Life is an expansive choral extravaganza taking inspiration from Friedrich Nietzsche’s Thus Spake Zarathustra. The composer interprets the writer’s ideas as a paean
Proms 2025: An Unremarkable Mahler Resurrection from the Hallé and Kahchun Wong – Opera Today
The Singaporean-born conductor Kahchun Wong is certainly a fascinating one based on this performance of Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony. A winner of the Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition (2016), where he conducted the composer’s Third Symphony, there
Heinrich Marschner’s Once-Famous Hans Heiling Gets a Fine New Recording – Opera Today
Heinrich Marschner (1795-1861) was one of many nineteenth-century composers in the German-speaking lands who tried to create a tradition of serious German opera, distinct from tradition of Singspiel (mostly light comic operas with acres of
Fine musical performances redeem this revival of Glyndebourne’s Kátya Kabanová – Opera Today
A winged angel, multiple birdcages and confining walls of brilliant white dominate this symbol-heavy staging of Kátya Kabanová, a production first unveiled by Damiano Michieletto at Glyndebourne in 2021. A few minor adjustments under revival director
Canto Vocal Programs Hosts A Romantic Evening With “The Love Concert” – Opera Today
Mere hours after the wonderful morning outreach performance last Saturday, the singers of Canto Virginia 2025 performed a larger, more formal concert with the theme of love. Canto Vocal Programs Artistic Director Sharon Mohar introduced
Canto Virginia Delights Audiences of All Ages with Outreach Performance Who’s Afraid of Opera? – Opera Today
Outreach performances are often viewed as a rite of passage for young aspiring opera singers, in many cases involving travel to schools for 8 A.M. assembly performances. The advantage Canto Vocal Programs has is that
French Culture Professor Gives Lecture on Women in French Opera for Canto Vocal Programs – Opera Today
Last week, Canto Vocal Programs treated Loudoun County to a lecture on French opera with some musical surprises. Maurice Lugassy, professor of French culture, was invited by the faculty to provide some more background for
Berlin Staatsoper’s poignant re-interpretation of Strauss’s comedy Die schweigsame Frau – Opera Today
Die schweigsame Frau (1935) was Strauss’s only collaboration with Stefan Zweig – a writer as prominent and satisfactory for the composer to work with as Hugo von Hofmannsthal had been until his sudden death. In
Back to the Future: Verdi’s Macbeth at Teatro Nuovo – Opera Today
Big American opera companies in America today resemble Broadway companies. They strive to fill gargantuan theaters by serving up a mix of warhorses and crossover repertoire, staged by celebrity directors, accompanied by overloud musical forces,
Washington National Opera Coach Ken Weiss Holds Masterclass With Canto Virginia – Opera Today
In addition to its core faculty of opera industry professionals, Canto Vocal Programs makes it a point to provide its students with instruction and feedback from industry professionals from outside of the program. This week,
Rusalka by Opera Australia – Opera Today
Instantly absorbing and continually moving, Opera Australia’s (AO) new production of Rusalka, directed by Sarah Giles, showcases Czech composer Antonín Dvořák’s tragic fairy tale spectacularly in all its visual, musical and thematic glory. Bringing together the
Something A Little Different Indeed: Yeomen of the Guard at Young Victorian Theatre Company – Opera Today
When one thinks of Gilbert and Sullivan, one thinks: Comedy. Wordplay. Happy ending. Although there is plenty of the first two in Yeomen of the Guard, alas, as the only tragedy in their canon, there is
Charlottesville Opera’s The Pirates of Penzance: The Way Gilbert and Sullivan Should Be – Opera Today
In the charming city of Charlottesville in central Virginia lies a gem of an opera company that performs at the wonderful Paramount Theater nestled in a lovely square. The venue itself is a testament to