By Francisco Salazar
The Angers/Nantes Opera has announced its 2022-23 season. Here is a look at the opera productions and vocal performances.
Opera
Raphaële Kennedy, Sophia Burgos, Els Janssens Vanmunster, Marc Scoffoni, Charles Rice, and Vincent Bouchot lead “L’Annonce faite à Marie.” The world premiere is composed by Philippe Leroux. Célie Pauthe directs the production.
Performance Dates: Oct. 9-Nov. 19, 2022
Christophe Rousset conducts Händel’s “Alcina” with Karina Gauvin, Rachel Redmond, Maite Beaumont, Teresa Iervolino, Nick Pritchard, and John Chest.
Performance Date: Oct. 25, 2022
Mozart’s “Zaïde” will be staged by Louise Vignaud and orchestrated by Robin Melchior. Kseniia Proshina, Kaëlig Boché, Mark Van Arsdale, Niall Anderson, and Marief Guittier. Nicholas Simon conducts.
Performance Dates: Feb. 26-March 5, 2023
Cristian Saitta, Gianluca Terranova, Lucie Roche, Alessio Cacciamani, Federico Longhi, Marta Torbidoni, and Marie-Bénédicte Souquet lead Verdi’s “Luisa Miller” with Guy Montavon directing and Pietro Mianiti conducting.
Performance Dates: March 10-April 13, 2023
“La Vieille Maison” by Marcel Landowski will be conducted by Rémi Durupt and directed by Éric Chevalier. Théo Imart, Dima Bawab, Marc Labonnette, and Éric Vignau.
Performance Dates: May 5-13, 2023
Giulio Pelligra, Mathias Vidal, Maria Grazia Schiavo, Perrine Madoeuf, Marc Scoffoni, and Giorgio Caoduro star in Donizetti’s “L’Élisir d’amore” with David Lescot directing and Chloé Dufresne conducting.
Performance Dates: May 26-June 15, 2023
Concerts
Camille Fritsch, Olivier Coiffet, Hugues Primard, and Marc Busnel perform in a concer entitled “Heureux qui comme Ulysse.”
Performance Date: Sept. 22, 2022
Hector Berlioz’s “Le retour à la vie” will be performed Sahy Ratia, Philippe-Nicolas Martin, Marc Scoffoni, and Julie Robard-Gendre.
Performance Dates: Dec. 14 & 15, 2022
Ailyn Pérez and Benjamin Appl team up for “Les Chœurs à l’honneur” featuring music from “Carmen,” “Tanhausser,” “Madama Butterfly,” “Mefistofele,” and the German Requiem.
Performance Dates: June 9 & 13 2023
By Francisco Salazar
This week audiences will get to hear the second album by one of the rising tenors in the opera world as well as world premiere recordings and a DVD recording of a Wagner work.
The Paper Lined Shack
Supertrain Records is set to release Jeff Beal’s titular song cycle performed by the brilliant soprano Hilá Plitmann and Eastman Philharmonia and conducted by Leonard Slatkin. The text derived from Beal’s own great-grandmother’s memoirs about life as a widowed mother of six in Idaho at the turn of the 21st century. The album also contains “Things Unseen,” a piece that explores mysticism and superstition, performed by the New Hollywood String Quartet.
Songs by Warlock and Howe
Mezzo-soprano Anna Harvey and pianist Mark Austin release a new album for Rubicon Classics. The recording showcases the greatest songs of Peter Warlock and original works by living composer Frederick Howe. The album marks Harvey and Austin’s debut recital disc release.
The new recording will feature two previously unrecorded works by Warlock, chosen in consultation with the Warlock Society of Great Britain and 21 of Warlock’s songs are complemented on the new release by nine world premiere recordings of English folk song arrangements by Frederick Howe, recorded in celebration of the composer’s recent 70th birthday milestone.
Lieder
Matthias Goerne releases his third lieder album Daniil Trifonov continuing his collaboration with Deutsche Grammophon. The new album contains songs by Schumann, Brahms, Wolf, Berg, and Shostakovich.
Il Tenore
Decca Classics releases British-Italian tenor Freddie De Tommaso’s new album. The CD features arias and duets from “Madama Butterfly,” “Turandot,” “Carmen,” and “Tosca.” He is joined by Lise Davidsen, Natalya Romaniw, and Aigul Akhmetshina in selections from “Tosca,” “Butterfly” and “Carmen.” The Philharmonia Orchestra is conducted by Paolo Arrivabeni.
Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer
Deutsche Grammophon releases a DVD of Wagner’s “Der fliegende Holländer” from the Bayreuth Festival. Georg Zeppenfeld, Asmik Grigorian, Eric Cutler, Marina Prudenskaya, Attilio Glaser, and John Lundgren star alongside Oksana Lyniv conducting the production by Dmitri Tcherniakov.
Virtuosa
Leaf Music and award-winning ensemble Infusion Baroque present Virtuosa. Recorded at Église St-Agustin in Mirabel and Conservatoire de musique et d’art dramatique de Montreal in Quebec, Virtuosa is the ensemble’s first collaboration with JUNO-award winning producer Martha de Francisco. The record offers 14 pieces and almost two hours of music spanning 400 years. The album features Alexa Raine-Wright on flute, Sallynee Amawat on violin, Rona Nadler on harpsichord, and Andrea Stewart on cello and viola de gamba, with guest performances by soprano Ariadne Lih, Sari Tsuji on violin, and Gili Loftus on fortepiano.
Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria
The Château de Versailles’s Les Épopées are releasing the first CD. The release features a cast that includes Valerio Contaldo (Ulisse), Lucile Richardot (Penelope), Ambroisine Bré (Fortuna, Ericlea, Melanto), Marie Perbost (Amore, Giunone), and Cyril Auvity (Eumete).
By Logan Martell
The Atlanta Opera has announced that composer Marcus Norris and librettist Adamma Ebo have been chosen as the winners of their inaugural “96-Hour Opera Project: Stories that Resonate.”
The competition ran from June 17 – 20, with the finals presented at the Ray Charles Performing Arts Center in Morehouse College.
The project is a composition showcase where six teams created 10-minute operas over the course of four days , drawing on stories and materials provided by local partnering organizations. Norris and Ebo will share a $10k cash prize, and a commission from TAO to write a chamber opera. Their work, titled “Go On With the Wind,” was based on information provided by Atlanta History Center, follows a Morehouse Glee Club singer who was invited to sing at a party celebrating the 1939 premiere of “Gone With The Wind.”
The other participating teams were comprised of Johanny Navarro and Deborah Muton, Jorge Sosa and Alejandra Martinez, Carlos Castro and Diana Solomon-Glover, Roydon Tse and Marcus Yi, and Saman Shahi and Isabella Dawis. The judges panel included Portland Opera Artistic Director Priti Gandhi, librettist and writer Andrea Davis Pinkney, Houston Opera General Director Khori Dastoor, renowned bass Morris Robinson, composer Kevin Putts, and choreographer Donald Byrd.
The Atlanta Opera Film Studio will also produce a mini-series comprised of competition and interview footage that will air on Georgia Public Broadcasting stations July 11-13, 2022.
By David Salazar
San Diego Opera and La Jolla Music Society are joining forces to present Isabel Leonard and Pablo Sáinz-Villegas in concert.
The showcase, which is set to take place on Dec. 1, 2022, at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall at The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, will be the first co-presentation between the two organizations.
The concert will spotlight the musical traditions of Spain.
“I’m thrilled to be presenting this concert by the esteemed mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard. This will be the third time San Diego Opera has presented singers in the perfect acoustic of the Baker-Baum Concert Hall, but this is the first time for us to do so in partnership with the La Jolla Music Society, which I hope will be the beginning of an ongoing relationship,” said San Diego Opera General Director David Bennett in an official press statement.
Leonard and Sáinz-Villegas previously collaborated as part of the Met Opera’s concert series at Versailles in mid-2021.
By David Salazar
Austria’s Schubertiade has announced its 2023 program
As always, this will focus solely on vocal and operatic performances.
It all kicks off with soprano Fatma Said and pianist Joseph Middleton taking on music by Haydn, Schubert, and Schumann.
Performance Date: April 30, 2023
Mattias Goerne and Leif Ove Andsnes will perform Schubert’s “Winterreise.”
Performance Date: June 17, 2023
Soprano Christiane Karg and pianist Malcolm Martineau will perform music by Schubert and Berlioz, including the latter’s “Les Nuits d’Été.”
Performance Date: June 18, 2023
Baritone Konstantin Krimmel and pianist Daniel Heide will take on Schubert’s “Die Schöne Müllerin.”
Performance Date: June 19, 2023
Tenor Mauro Peter, pianist Helmut Deutsch, and horn player Anton Deppelbauer will perform music by Schubert and Mozart.
Performance Date: June 20, 2023
Soprano Regula Mühlemann, accompanied by pianist Tatiana Korsunskaya and clarinettist Matthias Schorn, will headline a performance featuring music by Strauss, Schubert, and Stolz.
Performance Date: June 21, 2023
Tenor Patrick Grahl and pianist Daniel Heide will perform music by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Schubert.
Performance Date: June 22, 2023
Soprano Katharina Konradi will join forces with pianist Malcolm Martineau for music by Clara and Robert Schumann, as well as Schubert.
Performance Date: June 23, 2023
Baritone Andrè Schuen and pianist Daniel Heide will perform music by Mahler and Schubert.
Performance Date: June 24, 2023
Tenor Christoph Prégardien and pianist Julius Drake will perform music by Wolf, Grieg, Liszt, Loewe, and Schubert.
Performance Date: August 26, 2023
Mezzo-soprano Sophie Rennert and pianist Joseph Middleton will take on music by Schumann and Schubert.
Performance Date: August 27, 2023
Christoph Prégardien will perform in concert.
Performance Date: August 28 – Sept. 1, 2023
Baritone Konstantin Krimmel, pianist Julius Drake, and cellist Mathias Johansen will perform music by Schubert.
Performance Date: August 28, 2023
Ian Bostridge and pianist Saskia Giorgini will perform Schubert’s “Winterreise.”
Performance Date: August 29, 2023
Nikola Hillebrand, Sophie Rennert, Stuart Jackson, and Manuel Walser will join pianists Malcolm Martineau and Joseph Middleton for music by Schumann.
Performance Date: August 30, 2023
Andrè Schuen and pianist Daniel Heide will perform music by Schubert.
Performance Date: August 31, 2023
Soprano Louise Alder, pianist Joseph Middleton, and clarinetist Daniel Ottensamer will interpret music by Schubert and Mozart.
Performance Date: Sept. 1, 2023
Andrè Schuen and pianist Daniel Heide will perform music by Schumann.
Performance Date: Sept. 2, 2023
Katharina Konradi, Marie Seidler, Ilker Arcayürek, Andrè Schuen, Daniel Heide, and Marcelo Amaral will take on songs by Brahms.
Performance Date: Oct. 4, 2023
Christoph Prégardien and pianist Michael Gees will take on music by Schubert.
Performance Date: Oct. 4, 2023
By Francisco Salazar
The Los Amigos Canarios de La Ópera de las Palmas has announced the titles for the 2023 season.
The company, which is currently performing a production of “Les Contes d’Hoffmann,” will showcase five operas with three performances from February to June 2023.
While casting has not been announced the season will feature Giordano’s “Fedora.” The opera will be presented for the first time in the company’s 56 years.
Meanwhile, in March, Verdi’s “Aida” will grace the stage and right after Ponchielli’s “La Gioconda.”
The season will close with Bel Canto masterpiece “Lucia di Lammermoor” by Donizetti and Verdi’s “Rigoletto.”
More details are set to be announced in the coming months and we will update the article.
By Logan Martell
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra has announced the appointment of composer Trevor Wilson as its RBC Resident Conductor, and the extension of Simon Rivard’s position as conductor of the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra.
Wilson will begin his residency in September, which will last through the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. He was selected from a body of conductors across Canada and worldwide. Wilson will work with Music Director Gustavo Gimeno through rehearsals and performances, and will lead TSO’s Young People’s Concerts of Platypus Theatre’s “How the Gimquat Found Her Song,” “The Hockey Sweater,” and other orchestral events.
“The Orchestra and I were very impressed by Trevor’s obvious gifts as a conductor,” Gimeno said in an official press statement. “His audition showed a confidence, musical intelligence and sensitivity that will be an asset to his work and growth with the TSO. We look forward to the next two years together.”
Rivard, the previous RBC Resident Conductor, will remain in his position as TSYO Conductor through their 50th anniversary season in 2023-24.
“I am extremely pleased that Simon Rivard will continue in the position of TSYO Conductor through the Orchestra’s milestone 50th season,” Gimeno continued. “Simon’s energy, enthusiasm and commitment to the next generation of musicians and music lovers has been invaluable to the TSO. He has demonstrated extraordinary leadership of the TSYO and has kept members active, engaged, and inspired through the unprecedented challenges of the past two years.”
By Afton Wooten
Venezuelan male soprano Samuel Mariño will make his Australian debut this fall with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra.
In the concert series “The Soprano” Mariño will perform Baroque arias by Handel, Vivaldi, Montiverdi, Hasse, and Porpora. The concerts will take place at Sydney’s City Recital Hall on September 1 – 17 and at the Melbourne Recital Centre from September 8 – 11.
Mariño has been praised for his unique voice and performance style. He has sung much of the classical repertoire and has performed roles in early operas by Monteverdi, Handel, Porpora, Vivaldi, Hasse, Mozart, and Salieri. In 2022, Mariño released “Sopranista,” the first album to feature a male soprano singing arias that were traditional for female voices.
“I’ve always wanted to perform in Australia and am so excited to sing alongside the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and share my deep love of Baroque music with Australian audiences,” the soprano said in an official press statement. “Having admired the Brandenburg and the free spirit of its musicians, I feel privileged to have been asked by Paul Dyer to lend my voice to a beautiful program of Baroque arias.”
By Francisco Salazar
The Staatskapelle Dresden has announced a new Chief Conductor.
Daniele Gatti will succeed Christian Thielemann in autumn 2024. The news comes after the musicians of the Staatskapelle Dresden voted unanimously for the Italian conductor.
Gatti is currently the Music Director of the Orchestra Mozart, Artistic Advisor of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, and Chief Conductor of the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.
He recently held positions as the Music Director of the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma as well as the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre National de France, the Royal Opera House of London, the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Zurich’s Opernhaus and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam.
By Francisco Salazar
The Finnish National Opera and Ballet’s XR Stage Project has received the international FEDORA Next Stage Grant.
The grant was launched in 2021 by FEDORA and Opera Europa to trigger change and recovery in the opera and dance sector. The grant provides financial support and skills development to boost innovation through sustainability, inclusivity, and digital transformation.
It also gives financial support for projects that help create new industry standards and opportunities.
Upon the announcement of the grant Lilli Paasikivi, the Artistic Director of the Finnish National Opera said, ”The XR Stage Design Platform strengthens the planning process of stage productions. The sharp 3D image of the stage, set in a custom virtual space within each venue, is informative and adaptable and ensures an artistically and technically viable end result. The creative team can explore and find inspiration in the virtual space in the early part of the artistic planning process. Performers, too, can study the stage in advance. This empowers their performance, saves stage rehearsal time, and improves occupational safety. It’s truly exciting to be part of a development process that benefits us all, from designers to performers to technical staff and the audience,”
Tapio Säkkinen, Head of Set Workshop and Environmental Head at the Finnish National Opera and Ballet added, “From a sustainability point of view, the virtual model allows artistic teams based in different countries to work together, considerably reducing the need for travel. This also improves the reliability of final plans, preventing the production of unnecessary sets and last minute changes. This means less wasted materials and less work.”
