Menu

By Francisco Salazar
(Credit: Simon Pauly)
Derek Welton has joined TACT International Art Management for General Management.

Welton is described as “mightily imposing” and “noble sounding,” and is a noted interpreter of Wagner’s music. He has performed such roles as Figaro, Il Conte, Don Giovanni, through Pandolfe, Don Pizarro to Orest, Wanderer, and Wotan.

He has performed at some of the most prestigious opera houses and festivals including the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Wiener Staatsoper, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Semperoper Dresden, Staatsoper Hamburg, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Opéra de Lyon, the Salzburg Festival, Salzburg Easter Festival, Bayreuth Festival, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, and Glyndebourne Festival.

This season, Welton is set to perform he is set to perform at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Wiener Staatsoper, and Bayreuth Festival.

By Francisco Salazar
The Opernhaus Zürich has announced a cast change for its Feb. 22 performance of Donizetti’s “Roberto Devereux.”

The company said that Elena Moşuc will sing the role of Elisabetta, replacing Inga Kalna, who is ill.

Moşuc performed the first two shows on Feb. 12 from the wings of the theater while Kalna acted out the role and on Feb 17 made her stage role debut.

Moşuc is a legendary soprano who has performed at the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Opernhaus Zürich, Teatro La Fenice, Gran Teatre del Liceu, and Wiener Staatsoper. She is one of the most acclaimed bel canto singers of her generation and has performed the works of Donizetti, Verdi, and Bellini.

She joins a cast that includes Konstantin Shushakov, Anna Goryachova, and Stephen Costello. Enrique Mazzola conducts the new production by David Alden.

Kalna returns to the stage for the Feb. 26 performance of “Roberto Devereux.”

By Francisco Salazar
On Feb. 2, 2023, Conductor Caspar Richter died at the age of 78.

Born Sept. 16, 1944, in Lübeck, Germany, he went on to be known for “The Magic Mountain” (1982), “Das Jahrhundert der Operette” (1986), and “Elisabeth” (2005).

He began his career as Lorin Maazel’s repetiteur in 1968 at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and went on to be one of the most reliable ensemble members. In 1983 he became the permanent conductor at the Wiener Staatsoper and head of orchestra at the Volksoper Wien.

He also went on to found an orchestra for three other theaters, including th Theater an der Wien, Raimaundtheater, and Ronacher. Richter was also an honorary conductor of the Czech State Philharmonic Orchestra Brno. Additionally, he worked at the Basel Theater and did numerous musicals including “A Chorus line,” “Les Miserables,” and “Phantom of the Opera,” Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” “Mozart” with Harry Kupfer, and “Jekyll and Hyde,” to name a few.

Richter left 40 recordings including “The Producers,” Schumann’s Symphony No. 2, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 6.

By Francisco Salazar
Alan Gilbert has extended his contract as chief conductor of the Elbphilharmonie Orchestra in Hamburg, Germany, for another five years.

His contract, which began during the 2019-20 season, will now run through the 2028-29 season.

The conductor is also the Music Director of the Royal Swedish Opera, conductor laureate of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra.

In a statement, Joachin Knuth said, “Alan Gilbert is an extraordinary musical ambassador and an outstanding source of inspiration. In recent years, Alan Gilbert has advanced the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra and inspired our audience with his artistic and programmatic ideas, his precise conducting professionalism and his leadership. We will have Alan Gilbert by our side until 2029.”

By Francisco Salazar
The Teatro dell’Opera di Roma is set to celebrate Franco Zeffirelli’s centenary with Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci.”

The work, which is set to be presented between March 12 and 19, was created in 1992 for the Opera di Roma. Daniel Oren conducts the production with Nino Machaidze and Valeria Sepe singing the role of Nedda, Brian Jagde and Luciano Ganci as Canio, and Amartuvshin Enkhbat and Roman Burdenko as Tonio.

The cast is rounded out by Matteo Falcier as Beppe and Vittorio Prato as Silvio.

“Pagliacci” is set to be streamed on March 12 on Radio3 Rai.

The Opera di Roma will also present a Lezione di Opera with Giovanni Bietti and a dress rehearsal for young students on March 11.

A year of fierce struggle, a year of fateful days and sleepless nights, a year of sad losses, but also a year of strength, courage, bravery, and, most importantly, faith in Victory! On February 22, on the eve of the first anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion, Lviv National Opera invites you to join the commemoration of the fallen soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and all the innocents whose lives were cynically taken by russia.

The event was arranged by the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine and Lviv National Opera. It will be recorded by “Radio Kultura” and passed to the European Broadcasting Union for broadcast by European radio stations. On February 24, “Radio Kultura” will broadcast a recording of the concert “In memory of the Invincible”.

Soloists, choir and orchestra of Lviv National Opera present the requiem concert featuring “Requiem” by Giuseppe Verdi, one of the most dramatic compositions of world classics, full of emotions, pain and faith. Renowned opera singers Sofiia Solovii – soprano; Anastasiia Polishchuk – mezzo-soprano; Maksym Vorochek – tenor; and Taras Berezhanskyi – bass, will perform in the concert. Choirmaster – Vadym Yatsenko.

Also, the program features the work of the Ukrainian composer Viktoriia Poliova “Bucha. Lacrimosa”, created in memory of the innocent victims who tragically died at the hands of the Russian invaders in Bucha. The famous violinist, Honoured Artist of Ukraine Marko Komonko, will perform the violin solo in the composition.

The renowned Canadian conductor of Ukrainian origin Keri-Lynn Wilson will conduct the concert. In the summer of 2022, in collaboration with the Metropolitan Opera and the Polish National Opera, she led the world tour “Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra”, during which Ukrainian musicians performed in the largest cities of Europe and America.

Among the members of the company were musicians of the orchestra of Lviv National Opera: Andrii Tchaikovskyi, Marta Semchyshyn, Viktor Semchyshyn, Anna Bura (violin), Yurii Khvostov, Yevhen Marchuk (oboe, English horn), Nataliia Konovalenko (harp).

The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and the State Agency of Ukraine for Arts and Artistic Education supported the concert tour. The purpose of the world tour was to raise funds to support Ukrainian artists.

The event will take place on February 22 at 18:00.

Buy tickets: https://opera.lviv.ua/shows/pam-yati-neskorenyh/

By David Salazar
The Elsewhere Ensemble will premiere “Invocation – a prayer for peace” starring Kenneth Overton and Camille Ortiz.

The world premiere is set for March 3 and 5 at the Aasen-Hull Hall at the University of Oregon while a latter performance on March 7 will take place at The Old Church Hall in Portland.

Joining Overton and Ortiz will be violinist Colin Pip Dixon, violist Dr. Arnaud Ghillebaert, and cellist Dr. Kathryn Brunhaver.

Per an official press statement, “’Invocation’ doesn’t seek to explain or preach, but rather to offer an original music experience, a moment of contemplation spent together in “silence” around one of the most urgent questions of our times: do our beliefs drive us further into violence or lead us towards deeper peace and reconciliation? The music brings to life texts from 8th century BCE to the present; Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu prayers are sung alongside writings by poets, a scientist, an environmental activist and civil rights leaders.”

The music will feature texts by Frederick Douglas, Albert Einstein, Etty HiIlesum, Shantideva, St. Francis of Assisi, Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, Captain Paul Watson, Rabia Terri Harris, Jalalludin Rumi, Bayo Akomolofe, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, and Chandogya Upanishad.

The English Concert is set to record over 600 works by Händel as part of a project entitled “Handel for All.”

The project will feature an online library that includes older recordings, newer recordings as they are added, live performances, a resource for all ages and abilities, interactive digital learning materials, and resources for academic institutions and cultural researchers among others.

“This is a really exciting moment, and we are thrilled to be embarking on this ambitious journey to film all of Handel’s incredible music,” Artistic Director Harry Bicket said. “He left us such a treasure trove of delights and we want to ensure that people living now and generations to come have access to content of the highest quality. We are living in unprecedented times and sadly music is being woefully neglected in most educational settings. It is vital that we offer young people access to classical music and to help nurture the audiences of both today and tomorrow. We very much hope to develop some future Handel lovers through Handel for All.”

Kicking it all off will be a “Handel for All” celebration on Feb. 28, 2023 at Barbican Hall with a concert entitled “Handel: The Philanthropist.” Bicket will lead The English Concert and a group of soloists including Ann Hallenberg, Elena Villalón, and James Way.

Among the 600 works recorded are 70 operas and oratorios as well as 150 other vocal works. Among the works that audiences can expect in 2023-24 are “Samson,” “Saul,” “Acis & Galatea,” “Apollo e Dafne,” “Armida Abbandonata,” and “La Lucrezia,” among others. Works set to be recorded in 2023 and scheduled for release in 2024 include “Solomon,” “Amadigi,” “Ariodante,” and “Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno,” among others.

By Francisco Salazar
Soprano Ángeles Blancas has joined GoDirect for General Management in Europe and the United States.

Blancas has performed at the Teatro de la Maestranza de Sevilla, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Opernhaus Zürich, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Teatro Real, La Monnaie, Washington Opera, Carnegie Hall, Teatro La Fenice, and Teatro Massimo di Palermo.

Her repertoire includes the works of Brahms, Schumann, Mahler, Debussy y Ravel hasta Messiaen, Vaughan Williams, Richard Strauss, E. Chausson, Sibelius, Dutilleux, and Kurt Weill. She has also worked with Antonio Pappano, Fabio Luisi, Philippe Auguin, Juraj Valčuha, Lothar Zagroseck, Nello Santi, Marco Armiliato, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, and Alberto Zedda.

Future works include “Lear” at the Teatro Real de Madrid, a concert with Antonio Pappano, and recently the Kostelnička in Janáček’s “Jenůfa” at the Maestranza de Sevilla.

By Francisco Salazar
The Handel and Haydn Society has announced its 2023-24 season, the first under new Artistic Director Jonathan Cohen.

“This season we will make the old new again as our orchestra and chorus approach every piece of music with passion, vitality, and freshness on instruments from the period as the composers intended,” said Jonathan Cohen, Artistic Director of the Handel and Haydn Society. “The notes may have been penned by Bach, Mozart or Beethoven, but the performance is now, immediate and alive.”

For the purposes of this article we will only focus on vocal performances.

Jonathan Cohen conducts Handel’s “Israel in Egypt.”

Performance Dates: Oct. 6 & 8, 2023

For the 170th consecutive year, the organization will celebrate the holiday season with three performances of Händel’s “Messiah.” Jonathan Cohen conducts soloists Joélle Harvey, John Holiday, Stuart Jackson, and José Coca Loza.

Performance Dates: Nov. 24-26, 2023

Associate Conductor Ian Watson will lead the orchestra in a Baroque Christmas. The program will include the H+H premiere of Telemann’s Trumpet Sonata in D Major, Corelli’s Christmas Concerto, Scarlatti’s “Cantata pastorale per la Nativita do Signore Gesu Christo,” Charpentier’s “Noels pour les instruments,” and selections from J.S. Bach’s “Christmas” Oratorio. Soloists include Teresa Wakim and David McFerrin.

Performance Dates: Dec. 14 & 17, 2023

The British Masters will include soloists violinist Rachel Podger and Countertenor Reginald Mobley. The concert consists of the music of Purcell, Handel, and the rarely performed Ignatius Sancho, a composer who was enslaved at birth yet became the first Black man to vote in a British election.

Performance Dates: Feb. 2 & 4, 2024

Harry Christophers returns his first appearance as Conductor Laureate conducting Hildegard von Bingen’s chants “O filie Israhel and Flos campi” as well as two of Raphaella Aleotti’s motets from Song of Songs: “Vidi speciosam” and “Surge propera amica mea.” Christophers also conducts Haydn’s Symphony No. 49, “La passione,” and two works by Mozart: the Coronation Mass and “Vesperae solennes de confessore.” Soloists include Joélle Harvey, Helen Charlston, Aaron Sheehan, and Matthew Brook.

Performance Dates: Feb. 23 + 25, 2024

Guest conductor Raphaël Pichon and H+H take on Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in honor of the 200th anniversary of the 1824 Viennese premiere of the work.

Performance Dates: March 15 & 16, 2024

Bach’s choral masterpiece B Minor Mass will be led by Masaaki Suzuki, founder and music director of the Bach Collegium Japan.

Performance Dates: April 5 & 7, 2024

H+H will perform Brahms’s “A German Requiem” with Bernard Labadie conducting and Erin Morley as a soloist.

Performance Date: April 19 & 21, 2024

2024 © Opera World
Menu
cross
linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram