Bliss, Tosca and La Sonnambula at Opera Australia

Opera Australia regularly commission new work. Usually serious subjects
drawn from notable Australian literature or dealing with an event or hero from
Australian history.

La Damnation de Faust in Modern Guise at Lyric Opera of Chicago

During its recently concluded season Lyric Opera of Chicago presented two
musical pieces based on the theme of “Faust.”

In S.F. Opera’s sumptuous ‘Faust,’ John Relyea dominates as Mephistopheles

http://www.mercurynews.com/music/ci_15246643

Jurgita Adamonytė: An Interview

‘Focussed and pure of tone’, ‘beautifully steady’,
‘pure clarity and note perfection’ — just some of the
accolades bestowed on the Lithuanian mezzo soprano Jurgita Adamonytė for
her recent performances of Mozart.

Tosca, ENO

Seeing Tosca at the Coliseum brings back happy memories, as it was a
performance of Tosca (in a revival of the Keith Warner production in the 1990s) which occasioned my very first trip to the ENO. That also happens to have been
the first time I ever saw Tosca.

Capriccio/Tosca, Grange Park, Hampshire; Armida, Garsington Opera, Oxfordshire

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/a737986a-7180-11df-8eec-00144feabdc0.html

Bostridge and Pappano at Wigmore Hall

Bringing their recent recording of Schubert’s late songs to the concert stage, Ian Bostridge and Antonio Pappano swept through a sequence which ranged from bitter-sweet regret to angry self-reproach, from hesitant hope to turbulent despair, in this the second of two performances at the Wigmore Hall.

Lulu, New York

Alban Berg died in 1935, but his music was generations ahead of his time
– as one could not help but conclude during the recent revival of
Lulu at the Met whenever the vibraphone played “doorbell”
music, reminding us of the intrusion of cell phones into theaters.

RenÈe Fleming — opera, pop and snobbery (and music samples)

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2010/06/opera-singer-renee-fleming-goes-pop.html

Olja Jelaska: An Interview by Tom Moore

Olja Jelaska (b. 1967) is an important figure in the younger generation of
composers from Croatia.