By Francisco Salazar
The Teatro San Carlo has announced a change for its upcoming performances of Bellini’s “I Puritani.”
The company noted, “We inform our audience that the opera ‘I Puritani’ by Vincenzo Bellini scheduled from Sept. 7 to 16, 2022 at Teatro di San Carlo will be performed in concert version.”
The opera, which was originally set to be performed in a production, will star Lisette Oropesa in her role debut. She will be joined by tenor Xabier Anduaga, baritone Davide Luciano, and bass Alexandros Stavrakakis. Giacomo Sagripanti conducts with a cast rounded out by Chiara Tirotta, Nicolò Donini, and Saverio Fiore.
The Teatro San Carlo di Napoli is currently performing “Tosca” with Jonas Kaufmann and is set to present a production of “7 Deaths of Maria Callas.”
By David Salazar
The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino has announced a cast chance for its production of “I Due Foscari.”
Soprano María José Siri is set to take on the role of Lucrezia Contarini in the work, replacing soprano Ailyn Pérez, who was originally scheduled. Siri previously took on the opera 11 years ago; Pérez was supposed to make her role debut.
Siri will join a cast starring Johnathan Tetelman, Plácido Domingo, Riccardo Fassi, Joseph Dahdah, and Xenia Tziouvaras. Carlo Rizzi conducts the opera, which opens on May 22 and runs through June 2, 2022 for a total of five performances.
Perez is currently scheduled to perform “Le Nozze di Figaro” at Staatsoper Hamburg. That opera opens on June 6 and runs through June 15, 2022 for a total of four performances. She is also set to take on “La Boheme” in Munich in late July; Perez has two more productions of the Puccini opera scheduled for the Royal Opera House and Staatsoper Berlin.
By Francisco Salazar
Liudmyla Monastyrska is opening up about the War in Ukraine in recent interviews about her return to the Metropolitan Opera after a five-year absence.
The soprano, whose family is still in Ukraine and who she speaks with via Facetime noted in an interview with the New York Times that “it’s almost impossible to sing.”
She added that she was never a political person and instead focused on her family and faith and her artistry. However, after the war, she became more active and noted that “it is a complicated time for Russian and Ukrainian artists” and “did not feel it was appropriate for Ukrainian singers to appear in operas by Russian composers now, but she believed many of those works should still be performed.”
She also commented on her viral moment at the Teatro San Carlo di Napoli in which she appeared hugging Ekaterina Gubanova at the curtain call. She said, “she had mixed feelings about the attention paid to a video” and “said she was happy to embrace Gubanova as a friend, but she also understood that some might find it inappropriate for Ukrainian singers to perform alongside Russians in a time of war.”
Regarding Anna Netrebko, who she will be replacing in “Turandot,” Monastryska said that Netrebko’s response to the war was too late and questioned why she had waited a whole month to distance herself from Putin. She said, “She is No. 1 in the opera world; she is a very public person. Why did she wait so long to say anything? That is intolerable.”
She did, however, note that “She is a normal person; she is not an animal. But she should say, ‘I don’t support Putin.’” She also said that during rehearsals of Aida at the Teatro San Carlo, where the two sopranos were sharing the run, Netrebko told Monastyrska that she was against the war.
Monastyrska did note that she did not feel comfortable replacing anyone and she said, “This is not mine.”
According to the New York Times, Netrebko’s representatives did not respond.
By Nicolas Quiroga
(Credit: Cory Weaver/Metropolitan Opera)
The Los Angeles Opera will present simulcast for Verdi’s “Aida” on June 4, 2022.
The performance stars soprano Latonia Moore, tenor Russell Thomas, bass Peixin Chen, baritone George Gagnidze, bass Morris Robinson, and soprano Melody Moore. The work will be conducted by James Conlon.
Using nine HD cameras, the company will transmit the showcase live from the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion to large LED screens in Newhall Park in Santa Clarita, the Pomona Fairplex and the Santa Monica Pier. This represents the first time audiences will experience Opera in The Park in Pomona and Santa Clarita.”Aida” marks the sixth simulcast to the Santa Monica Pier.
“‘Aida’ has long been one of the most popular of all operas because it combines sheer theatrical splendor with an enormously touching human drama,” said Christopher Koelsch, LA Opera’s president and CEO, in an official press statement. “The visual world that Francesca Zambello and RETNA have created for this production is completely spectacular, and the incredible cast, under the baton of Verdi master James Conlon, will bring this masterpiece to vivid life.”
“Aida” runs from May 21-June 12, 2022.
Attendees are encouraged to bring their own seats and arrive early to be seated in the areas with the best viewing. Tickets are not required to enter, but visitors are encouraged to register in advance.
By Francisco Salazar
The Boston Lyric Opera has announced its 2022-23 season featuring four productions.
Gounod’s “Romeo et Juliette” will be performed in English with Ricardo Garcia in his company debut as Romeo and Vanessa Becerra making her company debut as Juliet. BLO Music Director David Angus will conduct and Steve Maler is the stage director.
Performance Dates: August 11 & 13, 2022
Yuval Sharon directs Puccini’s “La Boheme” with BLO Music Director David Angus conducting. Lauren Michelle returns to BLO to sing the role of Mimi. Matthew White will portray Rodolfo while Edward Parks is Marcello. Benjamin Taylor is Schaunard, and William Guanbo Su is Colline.
Performance Dates: Sept. 23 – Oct. 2, 2022
Bartók’s “Bluebeard’s Castle” will be directed by Anne Bogart and will be presented with Alma Mahler’s “Vier Lieder (Four Songs),” a song cycle that links thematically to Judith’s plight, giving her an expanded world and a new voice. BLO Music Director David Angus will conduct.
Performance Dates: March 22-26, 2023
Inspired by an autobiographical essay of a Muslim man enslaved in America, “Omar” is the story of Omar Ibn Said, a prominent scholar of the Islamic faith and many other subjects, who was born to a wealthy West African family. Grammy and MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellowship winner Rhiannon Giddens composed the music and wrote the libretto.
Performance Dates: May 4-7, 2023
Digital Offerings
The BLO continues to create opera and opera-inspired online experiences for its operabox.tv streaming platform. The first in a new series of free digital shorts commissioned from the New York artist collaborative UP UNTIL NOW launched last week, centering American Sign Language (ASL) as both a medium and a new language through which to bring the artform to new audiences. Called “SOUL(SIGNS): OPERA,” the series is developed by a diverse group of artistic collaborators from the Deaf and hearing communities whose work combines ASL, music and striking cinematic visuals to animate new recordings from three operas.
By Afton Wooten
Gaspare Spontini’s “La Vestale” will be performed as part of the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées’ 30th anniversary series.
The Roman tale of religious zeal and forbidden love features Les Talens Lyriques and Chœur de la Radio Flamande as well as Marina Rebeka as Julia, Stanislas de Barbeyrac as Licinius, Tassis Christoyannis sings Cinna, Aude Extrémo as The Great Vestal, and Nicolas Courjal The Great Pontiff.
Christopher Rousset will conduct the work on June 22.
Later this year, Les Talens Lyriques will appear at Potsdam’s Musikfestspiele Sanssouci to perform the revival of Nicola Raab’s semi-staged version of Pallavicino’s “Le amazzoni nell’isole fortunate” and then will make its debut at the Thomaskirche with C.P.E. Bach’s “Hamburg Concerto.”
By David Salazar
The Theater St. Gallen is set to present Piazzolla’s “Maria de Buenos Aires” on May 7, 2022.
The showcase will be presented at the UM!BAU venue under the musical direction of Natalia Salinas.
The performance will be directed by Marcos Darbyshire. Cast members include Ieva Prudnikovaite in the title role of Maria with David Luque, Mariano Gladic, Isaac Espinoza Hidrobo, Eva Leippold, Josette Schindler, Marcelo Nisinman, Sebastian Lima, and Mischa Cheung rounding out the cast of performers and solo musicians.
There will be additional performances on May 11, 15, 19, 24, June 7, 10, and 12, 2022.
Piazzolla’s world-renowned tango operita is set to a libretto by Horacio Ferrer and debuted at the Sala Planeta in Buenos Aires on May 8, 1968. The work is divided into two parts with the first half focusing on the life of the titular heroine and the second taking place after her death.
By David Salazar
New Mexico PBS will bring back its “¡COLORES!” series to provide an in-depth look at the behind-the-scenes of Santa Fe Opera’s “The Lord of Cries.”
The series premiers at 7 p.m. local time on May 12, 2022 and will allow audiences a chance to explore the process behind making Santa Fe Opera’s 17th world premiere production.
The series will feature appearances by such creative forces as Santa Fe Opera General Director Robert K. Meya, composer John Corigliano, librettist Mark Adamo, director James Darrah, costume designer Chrisi Karvonides-Dushenko, countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, soprano Susanna Phillips, Santa Fe Opera production director Chelsea Antrim Dennis, and conductor Johannes Debus, among others.
“The Santa Fe Opera is delighted to present this exciting program with New Mexico PBS. For over sixty years the Santa Fe Opera has been committed to playing a significant role in New Mexico’s vibrant arts and culture landscape by presenting performances of the highest quality of new, rarely performed, and standard works,” said Meya in an official statement. “Our special truly has something for everyone and we are grateful for this opportunity and the incredible partnership of NMPBS in telling our story. We are so excited to invite opera fans and newcomers behind the scenes at the Santa Fe Opera.”
“Lord of Cries” is an opera by John Corigliano and Mark Adamo that had its world premiere in 2017. The work was inspired by such classics as “Dracula” and “The Bacchae.”
By David Salazar
Sarasota Opera is set to present a summer movies series starting on May 22, 2022.
The company will kick the series off with the Royal Opera House’s production of “Rigoletto” starring Carlos Álvarez, Liparit Avetisyan, Lisette Oropesa, Brindley Sherratt, and Ramona Zaharia. Antonio Pappano conducts.
Performance Date: May 22, 2022
Next up is La Scala’s “Turandot” with an alternate ending by Luciano Berio. The cast stars Nina Stemme, Giorgio Mereghi, Alexander Tsymbalyuk, and Maria Agresta. Riccardo Chailly conducts.
Performance Date: June 26, 2022
Ambrosio Maestri, Jürgen Sacher, and Maija Kovalevska star in Verdi’s “Falstaff” from the Staatsoper Hamburg. Calixto Bieito directs.
Performance Date: July 10, 2022
Pretty Yende, Stephen Costello, Dimitri Platania, Kseniia Nikolaieva, David Shipley, Angela Simkin, Germán E. Alcántara, Andrés Presno, and Jeremy White headline the Royal Opera House’s “La Traviata.”
Performance Date: August 7, 2022
The series draws to a close with the Teatro Real de Madrid’s “Rusalka” starring Asmik Grigorian, Eric Cutler, Karita Mattila, and Katarina Dalayman.
Performance Date: August 21, 2022
By Francisco Salazar
The Boston Lyric Opera is set to present “Blythely Ever After.”
The concert, which showcases mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe as her tenor alter ego Blythely Oratonio, will be performed on May 6 at Royale Nightclub with Philadelphia-based drag artist Sapphira Cristál opening.
Blythe will don a beard and rock Wagnerian glam and will perform opera, pop and rock ‘n’ roll to create a story alternately hilarious and moving.
Blythe’s characterization of Oratonio began as a fundraiser for Opera Philadelphia in 2018 but developed into a full-length show that’s become part autobiographical, part operatic trope send-up, and part comment on an industry reckoning with its domination for centuries by music from dead men about dying women.
