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01 Jan 2005
Soprano Amanda Forsythe has sung so often with baritone David Kravitz that she was only mildly surprised recently when she Googled her name, and up popped a reference to “Amanda Kravitz.”
Tonight and tomorrow afternoon, Forsythe is paired with Kravitz again for Pergolesi’s delicious little opera “La Serva Padrona” (“The Maid as Mistress”), presented by Boston Baroque as part of its annual New Year’s Eve/New Year’s Day gala at Sanders Theatre. »
30 Dec 2004
ST. PETERSBURG, December 29 (RIA Novosti) – The city’s Mariinka (Kirov) theater is to open its next season here today with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Tsar’s Bride” opera.
Talking to RIA Novosti, people at the Mariinka theater’s press center noted that this was a joint production involving the theater and Holland’s Diaghilev Festival Foundation. The new stage version of this opera was first performed December 10 in Groningen, Holland. »
29 Dec 2004
Spoleto Festival USA has announced the production of three operas for 2005. These are: Die Vögel (The Birds) Lost when Braunfels was blacklisted by the Nazis in the late 1930s, the work has never received a fully staged performance... »
29 Dec 2004
De l’Isis de Lully, en 1677, à l’Akhnaten de Philip Glass, en 1984, en passant par l’inoubliable Aïda de Verdi, pas moins de deux cents créations lyriques – cantates, oratorios, opéras et ballets – ont eu pour thème l’Egypte, dont la moitié exclusivement consacrées à Cléopâtre. C’est dire l’attirance que ce pays et ses mystères, réels ou supposées, ont exercée sur les compositeurs et les librettistes, toujours à la recherche d’un nouvel exotisme ou d’un romantisme déchirant.
«Avec la deuxième collection d’égyptologie après celle du Musée Guimet de Lyon, dit Brigitte Bouret, conservateur du musée et commissaire de l’exposition «L’Egypte et l’Opéra», il était légitime que nous nous intéressions à ce thème d’une grande richesse d’autant que j’ai pu travailler avec un égyptologue de renom, Michel Dewachter.» »
28 Dec 2004
Premièring 14 January, TheaterLübeck will present Der Besuch der alten Dame, a schauspiel written in 1956 by the Swiss playwright Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921-1990) under the original title Komödie der Hochkonjunktur (Comedy of Business Prosperity), with music by Dietmar Staskowiak. Der Besuch der alten Dame received the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for best foreign play in 1958-59. »
28 Dec 2004
No time for Lyric to play it safe Opera company loses Epstein's voice of innovation By John von Rhein Tribune music critic December 27, 2004 Matthew A. Epstein's recent departure as artistic director of Lyric Opera raises questions about whether... »
26 Dec 2004
The Voices That Carried the Year By ANNE MIDGETTE OPERA lovers do a fair amount of hand-wringing over the state of singing today. My own pet peeve has been the decline in big voices, especially Verdi singers. But 2004 had... »
20 Dec 2004
Fi de Natalie Dessay et des Brentano-Lieder de Strauss (dont le dernier, Amor, donne le titre de son dernier album, chroniqué sur ResMusica). Qu’importe, le public s’est pressé ce soir là, comme à chacun des concerts de cette intégrale Mahler (lire le compte rendu de la symphonie n°3 et de ce même concert, deux jours plus tôt, à Dijon). Composée lors de son dernier séjour en Italie la symphonie n°29 d’un Mozart d’à peine 18 ans est créée en 1774 à Salzbourg, qui connaît depuis deux ans le règne du Prince-Archevêque Colloredo. Myung Whun Chung a choisi de réduire son orchestre en « formation Mannheim » (moins de trente cordes) pour servir cette œuvre avec la légèreté et la fluidité nécessaire. L’ensemble est très énergique et homogène, et accentue le coté brillant de cette symphonie par le parti pris de tempi plutôt allant, malgré quelques fluctuations dans les départs de mouvements. »
20 Dec 2004
Recorded music has benefited from the digital revolution, with lifelike reproduction possible in a variety of formats.
That’s not always a good thing, because professional musicians find themselves competing for work with a device known as Sinfonia.
The introduction of this “virtual orchestra” into opera and Broadway pits has stirred resentment, lawsuits and countersuits. Even the definition of what it is has generated heated debate. »
20 Dec 2004
At Juilliard, Students Learn That Opera Is Both Craft and Commodity By BLAIR TINDALL The Juilliard School in New York City has trained some of the world's most prominent singers since opening its opera department in 1930, including Leontyne Price,... »
19 Dec 2004
A History of Western Music? Well, It's a Long Story By JAMES R. OESTREICH OXFORD HISTORY OF WESTERN MUSIC By Richard Taruskin Illustrated. 4,272 pages. Oxford University Press. $500 until Dec. 31; then $699. The Oxford History of Western Music... »
17 Dec 2004
Philip Gossett, one of the world's foremost experts on Italian opera, will receive one of four Mellon Distinguished Achievement Awards, an honor that carries with it a $1.5 million prize. Gossett, the Robert W. Reneker Distinguished Service Professor in... »
16 Dec 2004
Berliner Opernhäuser haben Millionenverluste gemacht 19:45 Uhr Die Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin - Die drei Berliner Opernhäuser haben im ersten Jahr der gemeinsamen Opernstiftung weniger Besucher als erwartet gehabt und damit Millionenverluste gemacht. Insgesamt kamen in diesem Jahr in... »
16 Dec 2004
Discord rings out as new opera director takes up the baton By Sharon Verghis December 16, 2004 Richard Hickox barely had time to adjust to the time difference before he walked into his first industry controversy. "I'm sorry that I... »
15 Dec 2004
The Journal of Musicological Research has announced the release of Volume 23, Issue 3-4. The following is the table of contents from this issue: Paul Christiansen: "The Meaning of Speech Melody for Leos Janácek" Nathan Hesselink and Jonathan Christian... »
13 Dec 2004
Riss im Ensemble Bach-Chor ins Schlingern geraten Es schien perfekt eingefädelt: ein Konzert zum 50-jährigen Jubiläum, dann sogar mit dem künftigen Chef am Pult. Doch Ralf Otto, der charismatische Wunschkandidat aus Mainz, gab dem Münchener Bach-Chor kurz vor dem Weihnachtsoratorium... »
10 Dec 2004
A Night At The Opera Dec. 10, 2004 - That's the title of a very famous Marx Brothers movie--a movie that makes fun of all sorts of opera stereotypes. But you might be surprised to hear that the number of... »
09 Dec 2004
New, Musician-Run FM Station Plans Music Radio Revival A group led by two nationally known musicians has been awarded a contract to operate the Milwaukee Public Schools' FM station, WYMS-FM (88.9), and is developing a format to support musicians and... »
08 Dec 2004
Photo: AP/ Silvia Lelli/ Teatro Alla Scala. Glitz and clamour mark La Scala's reopening night John Hooper in Rome Wednesday December 8, 2004 The Guardian Decked out in red roses and surrounded by riot police, Milan's expanded and refurbished La... »
08 Dec 2004
Opera singer recovering after stabbing Doctors 'hopeful' about Giuseppe Di Stefano ROME, Italy (AP) -- Italian tenor Giuseppe Di Stefano was being taken off sedatives and doctors were hopeful about his recovery from injuries sustained in an attack at his... »
07 Dec 2004
The nominations for the 47th annual Grammy Awards were announced Tuesday in Los Angeles. The following were the nominees for opera and classical vocal performance recordings: Opera Recording: Monteverdi: L'Orfeo Emmanuelle Haim,conductor/harpsichord/organ; Ian Bostridge, Patrizia Ciofi and Natalie Dessay; Daniel... »
07 Dec 2004
MUSICA: E' MORTA SOPRANO ELENA SOULIOTIS 04/12/2004 - (ANSA) FIRENZE, 4 DIC E' morta improvvisamente oggi pomeriggio a Firenze la soprano drammatico Elena Souliotis, nota cantante lirica, amica di Fedora Barbieri e di Maria Callas. Aveva 61 anni e si... »
07 Dec 2004
Royal Holloway-British Library Lectures in Musicology Christopher Page, the founder and director of the ensemble Gothic Voices, will give a series of one-hour lectures at the British Library Conference Centre on Music in the Making of Europe 1000-1300. The first... »
04 Dec 2004
Britten's Venice Is Eclipsed by the Wonders of Colón By BERNARD HOLLAND BUENOS AIRES, Nov. 29 - The Teatro Colón is grand opera all by itself. Enter its front door to an ensemble of Italian marbles singing to the eye... »
04 Dec 2004
The teenage Mozart and the trinity By Shirley Apthorp Published: December 3 2004 02:00 | Last updated: December 3 2004 02:00 The walls of the set model can be lifted out and swapped around, like a dolls' house for the... »
02 Dec 2004
GLIMMERGLASS OPERA ANNOUNCES 2005 FESTIVAL SEASON Four New Productions to Run in Repertory June 30 through August 23, 2005 COOPERSTOWN, NY. Glimmerglass Opera has announced the repertory for its 2005 Festival Season. Four new productions, of works by Mozart, Donizetti,... »
30 Nov 2004
L.A. Phil: A 'fresh context' for 'Tristan und Isolde' By Valerie Scher UNION-TRIBUNE CLASSICAL MUSIC CRITIC November 28, 2004 Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde" is an epic melodrama, a mythic love story about the doomed romance between a knight and a... »
30 Nov 2004
Milan's La Scala stands ready to reopen on Dec. 7 after a two-year makeover, which includes the latest in acoustics and stage mechanics, a revamped floor, and new rehearsal rooms and offices. (Luca Bruno -- AP) The Very Model... »
29 Nov 2004
At XM, Boldly Going Under Hugh Panero, Satellite Radio Is a Hit. Just Ask Howard Stern And Mel Karmazin. By Annys Shin Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, November 29, 2004; Page E01 Hugh Panero has never had much patience for... »
29 Nov 2004
Classical buffs wary of letting eyes have it By David Patrick Stearns Inquirer Music Critic In the anti-MTV world of classical music, there's rarely been a video screen that didn't make great music seem worse. Years ago, the Philadelphia Orchestra... »
29 Nov 2004
Money woes prompt panic at Seattle opera, ballet By PEGGY ANDERSEN ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER SEATTLE -- With the local economy flying high with dot-com dollars and public and private money gushing, Seattle built a grand, airy new space in its... »
28 Nov 2004
During its 2004-2005 season, the Grand Théâtre de Genève will present Les Enfants du Levant by Isabelle Aboulker. Performances will be at 1930 on 11, 14, 15 and 16 December 2004 and at 1430 on 12 December 2004. Synopsis... »
28 Nov 2004
Artistic Director Peter Ruzicka and Director of Drama Martin Kusej presented the program for the 2005 Salzburg Festival at the annual press conference, which consists of 183 events. The following is an overview of opera productions and vocal recitals:... »
25 Nov 2004
The Real Drama of Berlin Opera Berlin's three opera houses are no strangers to eluding closure and nursing the wounds of financial incision. Although they are currently on safe ground, they're having to learn to sing for their supper in... »