By Francisco Salazar
Stage Access is set to present 18 operas from the Rossini Opera Festival with a new introduction to the acclaimed festival by performer Kelsey Grammer.
The Stage Access collection from the Rossini Opera Festival covers a wide and fertile creative ground that includes such works as “La Scala di Seta (presented in 2009),” “Zelmira (2009),” “Le Comte Ory (2009),” “Demetrio e Polibio (2010),” “Sigismondo (2010),” “Adelaide di Borgogna (2011),” “Mosè in Egitto (2011),” “Ciro in Babilonia (2012),” “Il Signor Bruschino (2012),” “Matilde di Shabran (2012),” “Guillaume Tell (2013),” and “L’Italiana in Algeri (2013).”
Other operas that will be streamed “Aureliano in Palmira (2014),” “La Gazetta (2015),” “Ricciardo e Zoraide (2018),” “L’Equivoco Stravagante (2019),” Rossini Opera Festival 40th Anniversary Gala (2019), and “La Cambiale de Matrimonio (2020)”
In a statement, Tripp Hornick, COO of Stage Access said, “The productions, the history and the lasting legacy of Gioachino Rossini are all on remarkable display, and we’re enormously proud to showcase what is a feast for your eyes and ears from this unique festival in Rossini’s hometown. Every connoisseur of classical music and fan of opera will find something fascinating here.”
By Francisco Salazar
(Credit: Marco Spotti)
Italian conductor Michele Spotti has been nominated as Music Director of Marseille’s Opera House and Philharmonic Orchestra.
Marseille’s Mayor Benoît Payan and the General Manager of the Opéra de Marseille Maurice Xiberras announced the news and noted that Spotti will start in his new role during the 2023-24 season, succeeding the current Musical Director, Lawrence Foster.
The appointment comes after Spotti’s success with Rossini’s “Guillaume Tell,” which opened the 2021-22 season of the prestigious Theatre.
In a statement, Spotti said, “It’s a great honor for me to welcome this appointment: it was easy to fall in love with Marseille’s Opéra, with its orchestra, with its chorus and its staff. Marseille’s light reflects on the sound of the orchestra, also thanks to the excellent conductors who have preceded me.”
He added, “The path of mutual growth will see us facing heterogeneous repertoires, both operatic and symphonic. My goal is to create an even stronger sound identity, enhancing the enormous potential of an already great ensemble. To make the Theatre an increasingly open space, I will also commit to a widespread distribution of its programs, aiming also to attract new audiences of all ages. I will not fail to bring with me in Marseille a deep and humble dedication to study, that true element sparking curiosity and the pleasure of playing. I thank Marseille’s Mayor Benoît Payan, the Town Hall, the General Manager of the Opéra de Marseille Maurice Xiberras, and the entire Theatre.”
By David Salazar
(Credit: Mart Sohl/ Metropolitan Opera )
Fathom Events is set to present encore screenings of Verdi’s “La Traviata” from the Metropolitan Opera on Feb. 15, 2023.
The opera stars Nadine Sierra, Stephen Costello, and Luca Salsi with Daniele Callegari conducting Michael Mayer’s production. Renée Fleming hosts the performance.
The encore screening will take place at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. local time at cinemas worldwide.
Of the fall 2022 performances, The Philadelphia Inquirer noted that “Spontaneity, freshness, and originality … This goes to the top of my ‘Traviata’ pantheon.”
The Metropolitan Opera is set to revive “La Traviata” later this season in the same production. Angel Blue takes on the role of Violetta Valéry alongside Dmytro Popov and Artur Rucinski. The company recently revived the production with Ermonela Jaho as Violetta with OperaWire noting that “[Jaho’s] not playing Violetta, she is Violetta.”
The Hungarian State Opera is set to present “War & Peace” starting on Jan. 28, 2023.
The Prokofiev opera will be presented in a production by Calixto Bieito; the staging is co-produced with the Grant Théâtre de Genève. There will be 28 singers taking on 45 roles. Among them are Csaba Szegedi (Andrei Bolkonsky), Andrea Brassói-Jőrös (Natasha Rostova), and Szabolcs Brickner (Pierre Bezukhov). Other cast members include Péter Fried / István Rácz (General Kutuzov), Zsolt Haja (Napoleon), Zoltán Nyári (Kuragin), Erika Gál (Hélène), Melinda Heiter (Sonya), István Kovács (Ilya Rostov), and Péter Balczó (Platon Karataev).
Alan Buribayev conducts the production which had its premiere back in September 2021 in Switzerland.
There will be a total of seven performances with the Hungarian State Opera run set to end on Feb. 18, 2023.
By David Salazar
Guild Opera Company has announced that it will present Puccini’s “Tosca” on Jan. 27 and 28, 2023 at River of the Valley in Canoga Park, California.
The opera will be headlined by Emma Berggren as Floria Tosca, Felipe Prado as Mario Cavaradossi, Carlos Oliva as Scarpia, Haocheng Sun as the Sacristan, Adam McCrory as Cesare Angelotti, Carlos Gomez as Spoletta, Alexei Helmbock as Sciarrone, and Lily Berthold as the Shepherd.
Dr. Robert Chauls conducts the performances while Gabriel R. Pazos directs.
Guild Opera Company was established in 1949 and has served as a launchpad for such artists and companies as Marilyn Horne, Heinz Blankenburg, and Mary Costa.
By Francisco Salazar
Following a divisive response from the classical music world about the film “Tár,” the film has been nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture.
The film, which has provoked much discussion in the classical music world, received nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress for Cate Blanchett, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing.
The discussion over “Tár” first took light after Marin Alsop noted that she found the film offensive. Leonard Slatkin also wrote an essay about the film stating, “I was engrossed for the entire length of the film. It is certainly worth seeing, but viewers need more than a passing knowledge of classical music to appreciate many of the references made. I give the film three-and-a-half gold batons out of five.”
Danielle De Niese attended the London premiere and praised the film on social media writing, “GO AND SEE THIS FILM! It’s a brooding psychological drama that only a magnificent artist like Cate Blanchett could have brought to life.”
Dame Sarah Connolly also gave her opinion after the premiere stating, “The acting across the board is superb, screenplay fabulous but needed shortening during long-winded “old maestri “ dialogues. My stomach was clenched during the bullying / manipulative scenes esp in 1st half hr. A very familiar feeling, sadly. Stellar turn from Sophie Kauer. Just because we haven’t yet seen a female bully in conducting of this magnitude doesn’t mean it can’t happen and Lydia Tár‘s mannish traits, casually cruel were horribly recognizable. Brava Cate Blanchett. She’s not likable but bullies rarely are.”
The Oscars are set to air on ABC on March 12, 2023.
By Francisco Salazar
Jonas Kaufmann has canceled his upcoming performance at the Mupa Budapest on Jan. 28.
The theater said, “We regret to inform our audience that due to illness Jonas Kaufmann will have to withdraw from his aria evening performance. We are working with the artist’s management to reschedule the concert and the new date is currently under negotiation. Tickets already purchased will remain valid for the new date which will be announced by email, on the mupa.hu website and on the event’s Facebook page.”
The cancelation comes a day after the tenor canceled the final performance of “Aida” at the Wiener Staatsoper. The tenor took to Instagram and said, “It is with sadness that I announce that I will not be able to perform in tonight’s final performance of “Aida” at the Wiener Staatsoper, nor my upcoming concert in Budapest. Although I have done my absolute best to continue, at the advice of my doctors, I need to rest.”
Kaufmann now returns to the stage in February for “Andrea Chénier” in Monte-Carlo.
By David Salazar
The Royal Opera House’s production of Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville” is headed to cinemas around the U.K. on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023.
The opera will be broadcast live from the Royal Opera House where it will be presented in a production starring Aigul Akhmetshina as Rosina, Andrzej Filończyk as Figaro, Lawrence Brownlee as Count Almaviva, Bryn Terfel as Don Basilio, Fabio Capitanucci as Bartolo, Ailish Tynan as Berta, and Josef Jeongmeen Ahn as Fiorello. Rafael Payare conducts the international cast.
There will be an encore screening of the work on Feb. 19, 2023.
Following “Barber of Seville,” the company will screen “Turandot” in March as well as “Rigoletto,” “Tosca,” and “The Marriage of Figaro” in April. “Il Trovatore” closes out the cinema season in June.
By Afton Wooten
The Potsdam Sanssouci Music Festival released the lineup for its 33rd season.
Friendship is the theme for this year’s program. For this article, we will only focus on opera-related events.
The first of three rare operas to be performed is Andrea Bernasconi’s “L’Huomo.” Philipp Mathmann, Maria Ladurner, Francesca Benitez, Florian Götz, Alice Lackner, Simon Bode, Anna Herbst, and Johanna Rosa Falkinger star in the production directed by Nils Niemann. Dorothee Oberlinger leads the nine singers and Ensemble 1700 at the New Palace Court Theatre.
Performance Dates: June 11 – 15, 2023
Next is “David et Jonathas” by Marc-Antoine Charpentier at the Erlöserkirche in Potsdam. Leading roles include David Tricou as David and Caroline Arnaud as Jonathas. They are joined by the Opéra Royal/Château de Versailles Spectacles, the Ballets de L’Opera Royal du Château de Versailles, as well as the Marguerite Louise Chorus and Ensemble under Gaétan Jarry. This production serves as the German premiere and the first co-production by the two companies. Marshall Pinkoski directs with costumes by Christian Lacroix.
Performance Dates: June 16 – 17, 2023
The Potsdam Sanssouci Music Festival comes to a close with Bernardo Pasquini’s “Idalma.” Arianna Vendittelli takes on the title role alongside Diego Godoy, Margherita Maria Sala, Rocco Cavalluzzi, Morgan Pearse, Juan Sancho, and Anita Rosati. Alessandro De Marchi conducts the singers and the Innsbruck Festival Orchestra at the New Palace Court Theatre.
Performance Dates: June 23 – 24, 2023
By David Salazar
The Salzburg Whitsun Festival has announced its 2023 festival and it will feature a very heavy emphasis on the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice.
“As a musician and singer, I firmly believe in the power of music and the human voice. Therefore, the Orpheus myth is naturally one of the ancient stories that fascinates me most. It heartens me when I read about the wondrous effect of Orpheus’ music: how it could pacify the most threatening enemies — even death — and how it could change lives in a way that would have been unthinkable if he had not desperately dared to challenge the world’s eternal laws,” said Cecilia Bartoli, Artistic Director of the Salzburg Whitsun Festival, on how she came up with this year’s program.
This year’s festival kicks off with Gluck’s “Orfeo ed Euridice” in a production by Christof Loy conducted by Gianluca Capuano. The cast includes Cecilia Bartoli, Mélissa Petit, and Madison Nonoa. The showcase will also feature Il Canto di Orfeo and Les Musiciens du Prince – Monaco.
Performance Dates: May 26 & 28, 2023.
Next up is “Opera in Concert,” featuring Haydn’s “L’Anima del Filosofo ossia Orfeo ed Euridice.” The work stars Thomas Hampson, Cecilia Bartoli, Rolando Villazón, and Mélissa Petit among others. The showcase will also feature Il Canto di Orfeo and Les Musiciens du Prince – Monaco.
Performance Dates: May 27, 2023.
For those looking for the French version of Gluck’s masterpiece, no worries because next up is “Orphée et Eurydice” starring Maxim Mironov, Edvin Revazov, Andriana Chuchman, Anna Laudere, and Lucía Martín-Cartón. Audiences will see the Camerata Salzburg, the Hamburg Ballet, and the Bach Choir Salzburg in performance. Kazuki Yamada conducts.
Performance Dates: May 27, 2023.
There will then be a Puppet Theatre dedicated to Monteverdi’s “L’Orfeo” conducted by Gianluca Capuano. The cast stars Renato Dolcini, Carlotta Colombo, Sara Mingardo, Marco Saccardin, Salvo Vitale, and Massimo Altieri, among others.
Performance Dates: May 28, 2023.
To close out the season the Salzburg Whitsun Festival will depart a bit from Orpheus and instead celebrate the career of Daniel Barenboim. First up will be a Schubertiade starring Bartoli, Martha Argerich, and Barenboim himself.
Performance Dates: May 29, 2023.
And then there will be a Benefit Gala in homage to the famed conductor with such artists as Martha Argerich, Lang Lang, Sonya Yoncheva, Bartoli, Villazón, and Plácido Domingo headlining. Zubin Mehta conducts the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.
Performance Dates: May 29, 2023.
