By Francisco Salazar
The Festival Verdi has released its 2022 numbers noting that the year marked a return to pre-pandemic numbers.
According to the report stated that there were 15,000 spectators for the Festival Verdi and 14,000 for the Verdi Off portion of the season. In total the € 875.860 and a SROI (Social Return On Investment) equal to 3.1, the highest in the history of the festival.
In a statement Anna Maria Meo, General Director of the Teatro Regio di Parma and Artistic Director of the Festival Verdi said, “Here we confirm once again that a serious, constant and rigorous work like the one done by the Teatro Regio di Parma in recent years, not only allows you to react to adverse events of epochal importance by investing in planning but ensures that, as soon as there is a turnaround in the trend, the institution is ready to seize every opportunity to exploit that long-awaited wave of recovery.”
Michele Guerra, President of the Fondazione Teatro Regio di Parma added, “The XXII Verdi Festival can be called the Festival of confirmations. The results show us in fact that the Verdi Festival has developed a working method capable of reconciling scientific rigor, economic sustainability, and artistic quality.”
This past season the festival showcased productions of “La Forza del Destino,” “Il Trovatore,” and “Simon Boccanegra.”
By Chris Ruel
Carnegie Hall is set to host “We Are Here,” a collection of songs from the Holocaust written in the ghettos and concentration camps of Nazi-occupied Europe.
The concert is slated for Jan. 26, 2023, at the Stern Auditorium and will feature music and readings by over 30 stars and cantors, including Harvey Fierstein, Chita Rivera, Andrew Lippa, Shoshana Bean, and Brenda Russell.
“We Are Here” commemorates those murdered and spotlights artists and writers who never stopped creating during the darkest of days of history.
Also scheduled on the program is a candle-lighting ceremony and memorial prayers.
By Chris Ruel
After a four-year hiatus, the biennial Heidelberger Frühling Wettbewerb “Das Lied” is back from March 1-5, 2023, at the Alter Saal of Theater Heidelberg. Tickets are available now. The Competition will also be livestreamed worldwide.
Founded in 2009 by Thomas Quasthoff, the Competition comes with a sizeable prize of €40, 000, along with concert and festival opportunities and more for the First Prize winner.
“For young musicians, competitions are an important station in their professional careers and can be a springboard. Since the young generation of artists was particularly affected by the pandemic, I am all the more pleased that ‘Das Lied’ can finally take place again after a four-year break,” Quasthoff said in an official statement.
This year’s competition saw applications from 131 countries spanning the globe. Of these, 38 singers and 33 pianists representing 20 countries were accepted. The competition repertoire includes selected Lieder by Aribert Reimann, Franz Schubert, and Viktor Ullmann. Rounds will begin on March 1, culminating with a prize ceremony on March 5.
Comprising the jury are Quasthoff as Chair, and Lied experts John Gilhooly (Artistic and Executive Director of London’s Wigmore Hall), Richard Stokes (Professor of Lieder at the Royal Academy of Music in London), James Taylor (Professor in the Practice of Voice at Yale University, USA), soprano Juliane Banse, mezzo-soprano Bernarda Fink. Pianists selected to take part are James Baillieu and Justus Zeyen. Rounding out the panel is artist manager Helga Machreich, and the Competition pianist is Professor Alexander Fleischer.
In a press statement, Thorsten Schmidt, director of Heidelberger Frühling, said, “The Heidelberger Frühling Wettbewerb ‘Das Lied’ presents nothing less than the future of Lied – excellent interpreters who have dedicated themselves to this unique art form. Giving these young artists a stage, awarding and promoting them is one of the most important tasks of Heidelberger Frühling Liedzentrum.”
The Wettbewerb “Das Lied” is a project of Heidelberger Frühling Liedzentrum, which was founded in 2016 to bundle activities around the Lied and to create a center for inventiveness, excellence, and competence in Lied.
By Nicolas Quiroga
Seattle Opera will present “Bound” starting on June 9, 2023.
The opera by composer Huang Ruo and librettist Bao-Long Chu, is based on the true story of Diane Tran, a 17-year-old student of Vietnamese descent who had to spend a night in jail after missing too many days from school. The reason? She was working two jobs to support her family.
“To me, a Vietnamese refugee living in America, the notion of being bound to one’s culture (and the struggles therein) is not just an idea, but my life writ large,” said Chu in an official press statement. “So when I heard Diane’s story, I recognized many aspects of my own family’s journey. I wrote this opera in a way that not only reflects a particular Vietnamese American experience, but also resonates with all of us as human beings.”
The opera will star soprano Karen Vuong in the role of Diane Tran; mezzo-soprano Nina Yoshida Nelsen as Khanh; and the bass-baritone Daniel Klein, who will make his company debut. Desdemona Chiang directs with Ruo, in his Seattle debut, conducts.
The production will run through June 18, 2023 at Tagney Jones Hall.
By Francisco Salazar
Former Director of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama Dr. John Cranmer has died.
The school released a statement noting, “We were sorry to hear that our former Director of Music Dr. John Cranmer passed away last week. John was a respected and popular member of the College community who will be greatly missed. We send our condolences to his family and friends, from all at RWCMD.”
Cranmer served as director of music from 2011 to 2018 and was just 60.
Former students took to social media to praise Cranmer for his “supportive” work and for his love of “early music and keyboard instruments as well as contemporary music.”
By David Salazar
Soprano Guiomar Cantó will present a series of concerts at the Auditorio Nacional de Música in Madrid.
The first showcase, scheduled for Dec. 30, 2022, will be a traditional Christmas concert entitled “Viena en Madrid.” The concert, which celebrates the holiday season, will feature the soprano alongside the Orquesta and Coro Filarmonía and the Ballet Filarmonía. There will be music by Strauss, von Suppé, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and many others.
Following that showcase, the soprano will be a part of the XXII Gran Gala Solidaria de la Zarzuela de Año Nuevo; That concert, which will be led by the Fundación Sinfolírica, is set for Jan. 7, 2023 at the Auditorio Nacional as well.
That showcase will feature music from “La Revoltosa,” “Doña Francisquita,” “Luisa Fernanda,” “Marina,” La Dolorosa,” and “La Rosa del Azafrán,” among others. The soprano will be joined by 12 other vocal soloists as well as a 140-person chorus.
Cantó recently performed a family concert on Dec. 17, 2022 at the Auditorio Nacional. She was also La Contessa in a November showcase of “Le Nozze di Figaro” at the Gran Teatre de Xátiva.
By Francisco Salazar
The Metropolitan Opera has announced a cast change for its performance of “Aida” on Dec. 21, 2022.
The company announced that for this evening’s performance the role of Ramfis will now be sung by Harold Wilson, who will replace Christian Van Horn.
Wilson has performed with the Opera Colorado, Dayton Opera, Opera Southwest, Baltimore Concert Opera, Opera Delaware, and Caramoor Festival. His repertoire includes music by Puccini, Mozart, Rossini, Verdi and Wagner.
He will join a cast that includes Brian Jagde, Michelle Bradley, Quinn Kelsey, and Olesya Petrova. Paolo Carignani will conduct.
Van Horn returns to the production on Dec. 27.
By Nicolas Quiroga
The Chicago Opera Theater is set to present the comic opera “Albert Herring” on Jan. 26 – 29, 2023 at the Athenaeum Center.
The Britten opera will be presented under the direction of Dame Jane Glover, and stars Miles Mykkanen, in his company debut as Albert Herring. Other cast members include Whitney Morrison as Lady Billows, Leah Dexter as Mrs. Herring, Justin Berkowitz as Mr. Upfold the Mayor, Bill McMurray as Mr. Gedge the vicar, Teresa Castillo as Miss Wordsworth, Wilber Pauley as Superintendent Budd, Alissa Anderson as Florence Pike, Vince Wallace as Sid, Veena Akama-Makia as Nancy, Boya Wei as Cis, and Corinne Costell as Emmie.
“[Britten’s] work was the spark that gave American composers the freedom to write opera in their own language, using its drama and natural contexts, it is these creative voices that represent our world today and the commitment of build tomorrow’s repertoire,” said music director Lidiya Yankovskaya in an official press statement.
In addition to the performances will be “Close-Up,” a free public preview with a discussion at the Newberry Library’s Ruggles Hall. The event will take place on Jan. 12, 2023.
By Francisco Salazar
(Credit: Scott Suchman)
The Palau de les Arts in Valencia has announced a cast change for its “La Bohème” on Dec. 21, 2022.
The company said that Corinne Winters will make her debut as Mimi replacing Federica Lombardi.
Winters also took to her social media and said, “Tonight I will make my debut with Les Arts Valencia earlier than expected, jumping in as Mimí! I can’t wait to reunite with my friend Saimir Pirgu and to finally work with Maestro James Gaffigan!”
Winters is coming off performances as “Dialogues des Carmelites” at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma. She is set to perform a production of “Jenůfa” at the Palau de les Arts in January.
The soprano is set to join a cast that includes Saimir Pirgu, Mattia Olivieri, Manuel Fuentes, Marina Monzó, and Damián del Castillo. James Gaffigan conducts.
Lombardi returns to the production on Dec. 13, 2022.
By Francisco Salazar
Freddie De Tommaso has canceled his final performance of “Tosca” at the Royal Opera House on Dec. 21.
The tenor took to social media and said, “I am very sorry to have to tell you all that I have come down with this dreadful flu that seems to be going around and therefore will have to cancel tomorrow’s performance of ‘Tosca’ at the Royal Opera House.”
Exactly one year ago, the tenor famously stepped in for an ailing colleague during a production of “Tosca” (also at the Royal Opera House), launching him into stardom throughout 2022.
The company has yet to announce a replacement but the production is set to star Natalya Romaniw and Erwin Schrott. Daniel Oren is set to conduct the evening.
De Tommaso next performs at the Teatro La Fenice in the New Year’s Eve concert with Federica Lombardi.
