By Francisco Salazar
The Fundación del Gran Teatre del Liceu is set to receive the Creu de Sant Jordi.
The award is given by the Govern de la Generalitat in Catalunya and is considered one of the most important prizes given by the government since 1981.
This year 30 people or entities will receive the Creus de Sant Jordi representing different fields and the region of Catalunya.
According to a press release the Generalitat will present the Gran Teatre del Liceu with the prize because the company is a symbol of Catalunya’s culture and one that has been part of the region for 175 years. The government added that the theater has become an international entity that is a reference around the world.
The President of the Fundación del Gran Teatre del Liceu, Salvador Alemany said that the prize is a great honor for the insititution.
The Gran Teatre del Liceu recently ended a run of Mozart’s “Die Zauberflöte” and will end the season with a production of Bellini’s “Norma.”
By Francisco Salazar
The Salon/Sanctuary Concerts is set to hold a concert for Ukraine.
The concert will raise funds for urgently needed humanitarian relief where it is desperately needed in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Sumy, Donetsk, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Dnipro, and Zaporizhzhia.
Maestro Gianni Fabbrini will lead an ensemble of singers, both American and Ukrainian in a recital of music from opera, oratorio, and recital. Music will includ selections from Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Verdi, Wagner, and Ravel along with traditional spirituals and Ukrainian songs.
Among the soloists will be Jessica Gould, Galina Ivvanikova, Vira Slywotzky, Lucas Levy, Steven Andrew Murray, and Richard Hobson.
The concert will be held on July 28 at the Marc A. Scorca Hall at the National Opera Center in New York.
By Francisco Salazar
The 58° Festival Pontino di Musica in Lazio has announced its 2022 season.
For this article we are highlighting the two vocal performances that will be presented.
The Syntax Ensemble will feature vocal performer Valentina Coladonato in music by Oscar Bianchi, Francesco Bussani, Luca Mosca, Francesco Mariotti, and Luis de Pablom
Performance Date: July 10, 2022 at Sermoneta, Scuderie del Castello Caetani
Maria Grazia Bellocchio, Maria Eleonora Caminada, and Riccardo Cavaliere perform a world premere.
Performance Date: July 15, 2022 at Sermoneta, Scuderie del Castello Caetani
The festival runs from July 2 through July 31 and is set to present concerts with young artists as well as international performers.
By Nicolas Quiroga
(© Javier del Real | Teatro Real)
On July 5, 2022, Queen Letizia of Spain hosted NATO summit participants for a visit to the Teatro Real in Madrid, where they attended a rehearsal of Giuseppe Verdi’s opera “Nabucco,” following a tour of the building.
The Queen was accompanied by the President of the Teatro Real, Gregorio Marañón, General Director Ignacio García-Belenguer, and Artistic Director Joan Matabosch.
Among the NATO representatives in attendance were Ingrid Schulerud, Linda Rama, Jodei Haydon, Annik Penders, Andri Anastasiades, Sanja Music Milanovic, Juraj Rizman, Brigitte Macron, Andrea Levite, Diana Nauseiene, Gauthier Destenay, Lidija Dukanovic, Elizabeta Pendarovska and Agata Kornhauser-Duda, each representing their country of origin.
The company’s production of “Nabucco” opens on July 5 and runs through the 22nd. The opera is directed by Andreas Homoki and conducted by Nicola Luisotti and Jordi Bernacer. Luca Salsi, George Gagnidze, Gabriele Viviani, and Luis Cansino will alternate in the title role with other cast members including Michael Fabiano, Eduardo Aladrén, Dmitry Belosselsky, Roberto Tagliavini, Alexander Vinogradov, Anna Pirozzi, Saioa Hernández, and Oksana Dyka.
By Chris Ruel
Brooklyn Telemann Chamber Society (BTCS) has released its film version of Gluck’s “Orfeo.” The movie is now available for free streaming on the organization’s YouTube channel. Soprano/violinist, and BTCS founder, Liz Kiger, directed the film, which premiered on June 30, 2022.
The BTCS production is an amalgam of various 1762 -1774 reform opera scores, featuring additional music, several added characters, and soprano Alexandra Pawlus in the title role. Helena Waterous co-stars as Eurydice.
An intriguing pastiche, the film features a cast of emerging artists with attention-grabbing voices. Kiger includes an overture of Kreisler’s rendition of the Gluck Melodie, an aria made from the instrumental ballet pieces, Naselli’s famous Eurydice aria sang by newly introduced character Persephone, and lines from Dante’s “Inferno” spoken by the added characters of Hades and Charon.
Kiger founded BTCS to present productions of early music in ways that expand the accessibility of opera to modern audiences. The company has a particular emphasis on spotlighting artists within the LGBTQIA+ community.
By Francisco Salazar
The Swedish soprano Berit Lindholm has been awarded the gold medal of the Fackförbundet Scen & Film.
The soprano is a distinguished Wagnerian soprano from Stockholm who has performed at the Royal Swedish Opera as well as at the Royal Opera House, Bayreuth Festival, and Metropolitan Opera, among others.
Her repertoire includes the roles of Chrysothemis in “Elektra,” Isolde in “Tristan und Isolde,” and Brünnhilde in “The Ring Cycle,” as well as Cassandre in Berlioz’s Les Troyens.
In the 60s she recorded “Les Troyens” under Sir. Colin Davis during a run of performances at Covent Garden.
The Fackförbundet Scen & Film is the Swedish Union for the performing arts.
By Logan Martell
On July 17, 2022, Vancouver Opera will present “Opera In The Park,” a free, family-friendly event full of operatic favorites which appear in popular culture.
The concert, presented in partnership with the City of Burnaby, will be held at Deer Lake Park. VO Music Director Emeritus Jonathan Darlington will conduct alongside chorus director Tina Chang in a program of works heard in films and shows such as “The Godfather,” “The Simpsons,” “Mission Impossible,” and more.
“We are delighted to present the inaugural Opera in the Park with the City of Burnaby,” said Tom Wright, Vancouver Opera General Director. “This free summer concert is our first partnership with the City of Burnaby. It’s also a celebration! After several years navigating through Covid restrictions, it’s an opportunity for us to directly engage with our audience again. Our July 17 concert will feature a day filled with events for music lovers of all ages with plenty of activities for families. We look forward to more events like this in the future.”
The concert will start at 7:30 p.m., with families encouraged to arrive earlier for the numerous activities which begin at 1:00 p.m., such as balloon twisters, face-painting, on-site food trucks, a photo wall, stilt-walkers, giveaways, and surprise, roaming performances; there will also be an “instrument petting zoo,” where children can get a closer look at the parts which make up an orchestra.
By Francisco Salazar
Opera Colorado has announced a 40th Anniversary Gala which will star Joyce DiDonato.
The concert, which is set to take place on May 13, 2023, in the Ellie Caulkins Opera House and Seawell Ballroom at the Denver Performing Arts Complex, will be chaired by Joy and Chris Dinsdale and all proceeds benefit Opera Colorado’s expanding artistic initiatives and Education & Community Engagement Programs.
In a statement DiDonato said, “Opera Colorado is a radiant example of what can be created through great leadership, a determined and united community, and great passion and love for the power of music and theater to nourish people’s lives. I’m incredibly honored to help celebrate these wonderful four decades, and I wish Opera Colorado many more years of touching the hearts of your community.”
Chairperson Dinsdale added, “Chris and I are honored to serve as the Chairs for Opera Colorado’s 40th Anniversary Gala, and to help create a spectacular celebration of this important milestone. Opera Colorado has been a pillar of the arts community in Denver and this special occasion will pay tribute to its many accomplishments from the last four decades and raise essential funds to help secure an even brighter future.”
The concert will include pianist Craig Terry and guests will then proceed to the Seawell Ballroom for dinner and dancing to the high-energy funk band, Funkiphino.
By Francisco Salazar
The Bayerische Staatsoper is set to present Verdi’s “Otello” as part of its Munich Opera Festival.
The company’s production by Amélie Niermeyer will star Gregory Kunde in the title role. It will mark Kunde’s return to the company following his performances in “Les Troyens.”
Kunde has performed the role of “Otello” in more than 25 productions in theaters such as the Teatro Real, Wiener Staatsoper, Opéra Bastille, and the Royal Opera House, among others. Most recently he performed it in a new production at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna.
Antonino Fogliani conducts the production which is also set to star Rachel Willis-Sørensen as Desdemona, Gerald Finley as Iago, Oleksiy Palchykov as Cassio, Galeano Salas as Roderigo, Bálint Szabó as Lodovico, Daniel Noyola as Montano, Nadezhda Karyazina as Emili and Andrew Hamilton as the Herald.
“Otello” will be performed on July 2 and 5, 2022.
By Francisco Salazar
Baritone Sebastian Catana is set to return to the Arena di Verona for productions of Verdi’s “Nabucco” and “Aida.”
The baritone will sing the role of “Nabucco” on July 1 under Daniel Oren. He will be joined by Ewa Plonka as Abigaille in her Arena debut, Abramo Rosalen as Zaccaria, Francesca Di Sauro as Fenena and Samuele Simoncini as Ismaele.
The baritone will sing in Arnaud Bernard’s production which transports the biblical-historical events of the Babylonian exile to the Five Days in Milan during
March 1848, where the Habsburg oppressors fought the insurgents in the shadows of La Scala.
Then on July 3, 24, August 21 and 28, Catana sing the role of Amonasro in Verdi’s “Aida” in the iconic production designed by Franco Zeffirelli.
Catana will perform under Oren on July 24 and then under Marco Armiliato on July 24.
Catana will sing with such performers as Liudmyla Monastyrska, Monica Conesa, Maria Teresa Leva will share the role of Aida, Clémentine Margaine, Anna Maria Chiuri, Oleysa Petrova, Yusif Eyvazov, and Samuele Simoncini.
Regarding his return to the Area, Catana said, “The Arena is a dream for every artist: the echoes of the legendary nights that made its history and the iconic singers who performed on this stage, represent a fantastic feeling to all of us singing for the present extraordinary audience. I made my debut in the Arena in 2015 with the title role of Nabucco, in the beautiful and historic staging designed by the late Gianfranco De Bosio, and since that year I have had the great honor of returning here several times during the following seasons with extraordinary characters such as Amonasro in Aida, Nabucco, Alfio in Cavalleria Rusticana and Tonio in Pagliacci. Every performance that I faced in this huge space I have been overwhelmed by the unique sensations of this atmosphere. I feel an incredible happiness for returning again this year under the stars, for the third time as Nabucco and Amonasro, to offer my voice and artistry while humbly adding my name to the monumental history and tradition of this place.”
