Soprano Acclaimed for Wagner Roles

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/19/AR2009081903913.html

Siegfried/Gˆtterd‰mmerung, Seattle Opera

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/110684fa-8c11-11de-b14f-00144feabdc0.html

Verdi: Luisa Miller

On a good night an opera performance can come across with visceral excitement without a classy production, top-name singers, or the benefit of being of one of the more familiar titles.

Mozart and Gluck — Mixed Results at Santa Fe

It is never easy to revive a success. Audiences will remember the first run of a show and consciously or not, compare a revival with earlier favorable impressions.

Verdi: Falstaff

Those opera lovers prone to rage at the perceived dominance of the director in their beloved art form today may collapse in apoplexy at this first release from the company called SignumVision.

And If The Song Be Worth A Smile — Songs by American Composers

The word “living” would be a fitting addition to the subtitle of this collection of “Songs by American Composers.”

Sir Harrison Birtwistle: Mask of Orpheus at the Proms

What drives Harrison Birtwistle to Greek myth? Orpheus is a primal archetype. When he played his lyre he tamed wild beasts and made mountains move. But he suffered. He journeyed into Hades but could not bring Eurydice, his beloved, back to life. In some versions of the myth, his talent enraged the jealous who tore him apart. Yet even then, his head remained intact, still singing. He symbolizes the power of music, and the fate of an artist.

Bellini: Norma

“An all-American Norma,” Roger Pines calls this release in his entertaining booklet essay.

Seattle to mount new “Tristan” in 2010

SEATTLE – Underscoring its role as America’s leader in the world of Wagner, the Seattle Opera will stage an entirely new production of Tristan und Isolde in 2010.

Opera being composed on Twitter

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/arts_and_culture/8193917.stm