When Captain Ahab sailed the Pequod into San Diego this week, he brought a new American opera with him. Jake Heggie’s Moby-Dick is a stunning work likely to have universal appeal.
Month: February 2012
Fleming in Strauss’s Capriccio
Is there somewhere in Italian opera repertory where, as a comic interlude, the portentous clichÈs of German opera come in for a skewering amid the luscious sunshine of Italianate lyricism?
Michael Spyres — A Fool for Love
Tenor Michael Spyres’ star is on the rise and his highly enjoyable debut recital disc offers ample proof as to why.
Amsterdam’s Invisible, Risible Kitezh
A breath-taking stage picture at curtain rise of Netherlands Opera’s The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia indeed made us involuntarily gasp as one.
Natalie Dessay to go on sabbatical
French soprano star Natalie Dessay has announced that she is taking a sabbatical from opera during 2015. She is unhappy with her current work at the Paris Opera, a production of Massenet’s opera “Manon,” and had conflicts with the stage director, French filmmaker Coline Serreau.
The Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition: Showcase Concert
Inaugurated in 1995, the Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition is a triennial competition, held in the National Concert Hall in Dublin, which takes place over a week in January.
Berlioz’s RomÈo et Juliette — Opera with few words
Mark Elder and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment brought Berlioz’s RomÈo et Juliette to the Royal Festrival Hall.
La Traviata, NYCO
In his memoirs, Five Thousand Nights at the Opera, Sir Rudolph Bing, general manager of the Met from 1950 to 1972, discusses the Met’s move from 39th street to its current home at Lincoln Center.
Victoires de la Musique Classique 2012
Last night’s French classical music awards show, the Victoires de la Musique Classique 2012, awarded the “Best Composer of the Year” honors to Philippe Manoury, 59, for his opera, “La Nuit de Gutenberg” (“The Night of Gutenberg”).