One year ago, tens of millions of Britons voted for isolation rather than for cooperation, but Douglas (Dougie) Boyd, Artistic Director of Garsington Opera, is an energetic one-man counterforce with a dynamic conviction that art and culture are strengthened by participation and collaboration; values which, alongside excellence and a spirit of adventure, have seen Garsington Opera acquire increasing renown and esteem on the international stage during his tenure, since 2012.
Category: Commentary
A Chat With Italian Conductor Riccardo Frizza
Riccardo Frizza is a young Italian conductor whose performances in Europe and the United States are getting rave reviews. He tells us of his love for the operas of Verdi, Bellini, and particularly Donizetti.
LA Opera’s Young Artist Program Celebrates Tenth Anniversary
On Saturday evening April 1, 2017, Placido Domingo and Los Angeles Opera celebrated their tenth year of training young opera artists in the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Program. From the singing I heard, they definitely have something of which to be proud.
When Performance Gets Political: A Brooklyn Concert Benefiting the ACLU
What’s an artist’s place in politics? That’s the question
many were asking after actress Meryl Streep made a pointed speech criticizing
President Trump at the Golden Globes. Trump responded directly to Streep, using
his preferred communication medium of Twitter to call Streep
“overrated.”
Bampton Classical Opera 2017
In 2015, Bampton Classical Opera’s production of Salieri’s La grotta di Trofonio – a UK premiere – received well-deserved accolades: ‘a revelation … the music is magnificent’ (Seen and Heard International), ‘giddily exciting, propelled by wit, charm and bags of joy’ (The Spectator), ‘lively, inventive … a joy from start to finish’ (The Oxford Times), ‘They have done Salieri proud’ (The Arts Desk) and ‘an enthusiastic performance of riotously spirited music’ (Opera Britannia) were just some of the superlative compliments festooned by the critical press.
The nature of narropera?
How many singers does it take to make an opera? There are single-role operas – Schˆnberg’s Erwartung (1924) and Eight Songs for a Mad King by Peter Maxwell Davies (1969) spring immediately to mind – and there are operas that just require a pair of performers, such as Rimsky-Korsakov’s Mozart i Salieri (1897) or The Telephone by Menotti (1947).
Battles administration neglects FLO’s assets by defunding the program
The college administration and President Denise Battles’ recent
decision to defund the Finger Lakes Opera came as a shock to many and a concern
to more. This decision reflects the administration’s blatant disregard
for the arts and reveals a mindset that is counterproductive to the mission of
the college.
BEMF Chamber Opera Series Presents Splendors of Versailles
The GRAMMY Award-winning BEMF Chamber Opera Series returns with an all-new production inspired by the splendor and music of the palace of Versailles. King Louis XIV transformed his father’s pastoral hunting lodge at Versailles into a lavish palace that served as the seat of government and culture in France.
Elizabeth Llewellyn: Investec Opera Holland Park stages Puccini’s La Rondine
It’s six or so years ago since soprano Elizabeth Llewellyn appeared as an exciting and highly acclaimed new voice on the UK operatic stage, with critics praising her ‘ravishing account’ (The Stage) of Mozart’s Countess in Investec Opera Holland Park’s 2011 Le nozze di Figaro in which ‘Porgi, amor’ was a ‘highlight of the evening’.