Diana Damrau News

Just what the opera world needs: Another director who doesn't have an idea about what to do with an opera. How else could you explain the new Dmitri Tcherniakov production of Verdi's LA TRAVIATA that opened the season at Milan's La Scala, on Saturday December 7th? Seen in a HD broadcast from the Emerging Pictures' 'Opera in Cinema' series, it showed what a travesty the Russian director's production was.

Baritone Christian Gerhaher makes his Symphony Center recital debut with pianist Gerold Huber on tonight, December 4 at 7:30 p.m., performing Schubert's Winterreise. This recital opens the 2013/14 Symphony Center Presents Schubert Song series, an exploration of Schubert's most beloved compositions for voice performed by artists renowned for their interpretations of these masterpieces.

From February 21 to March 16, 2014, Carnegie Hall presents Vienna: City of Dreams, a three-week citywide festival featuring more than 90 events, all inviting audiences to discover the extraordinary artistic legacy of Vienna. The festival features symphonic and operatic masterpieces, chamber music, and lieder, as well as new sounds emerging from this historic cultural capital. In addition to music, Vienna: City of Dreams shines a spotlight on Vienna's visual art, film, architecture, politics, science, and history, creating an extensive look at a city that for centuries has drawn artists, dreamers, and innovators from all corners of the world to its dazzling intellectual and artistic life.

On November 20, Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja-Gramophone magazine's 2012 Artist of the Year-returns to Lyric Opera of Chicago to headline La traviata in an incisive new production from Princess Grace Award-winning director Arin Arbus (Nov 20-Dec 20). The tenor's most recent appearance at the venerable company was opposite Anna Netrebko in La boheme last season, when he "restored powerful and idiomatic singing to the character of Rodolfo" (Chicago Sun-Times), and justly "earned the torrent of applause he received" (Chicago Tribune). In October, Calleja released Amore, his latest album for Decca Classics. Drawing inspiration from legendary tenors-including Enrico Caruso, whom Calleja plays in James Gray's upcoming film The Immigrant, Amore includes such favorites as "Besame Mucho," "La Vie en Rose," "Time to Say Goodbye," and "You Raise Me Up."

Baritone Christian Gerhaher makes his Symphony Center recital debut with pianist Gerold Huber on Wednesday, December 4 at 7:30 p.m., performing Schubert's Winterreise. This recital opens the 2013/14 Symphony Center Presents Schubert Song series, an exploration of Schubert's most beloved compositions for voice performed by artists renowned for their interpretations of these masterpieces.

Hailing from Alaska, America's 'last frontier,' the thrilling mezzo-soprano Vivica Genaux continues to earn accolades from audiences and critics alike for her enthralling performances on the world's greatest stages, praise focusing on both the unique beauty of her voice and the astounding brilliance of her technique, which combine to create unforgettable portraits of some of the most engaging characters in opera. Consistently lauded as one of the pre-eminent interpreters of Baroque and bel canto music, she continues to explore new avenues in these repertories.

According to the National, Polish pianist Krystian Zimerman recently left the stage during one of his concerts in Essen, Germany after being distracted by a fan recording him with his phone. Zimerman claimed that not only did the incident break his concentration, but the appearance of such clips on YouTube lessons the value of his recordings with musical companies.

The regular season just ended for the Metropolitan Opera--all that's left is a series of HD rebroadcasts on Lincoln Center Plaza and a couple of low profile concerts in New York City parks--and it's time for a look back at what kind of season it was. With seven new productions and 21 other operas in rep during a season that ran from the end of September to mid-May, the Met was nothing if not far-reaching in its repertoire. And that's the way it should be. But how did its ambitions work out?

Washington National Opera presents German soprano Diana Damrau in recital as part of its Celebrity Concert Series tonight, April 8 at 8 p.m. in the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater. Accompanied by harpist Xavier de Maistre, Damrau will perform selections from Schubert, R. Strauss, Hahn, Chausson, Duparc, and more. Both artists make their WNO debuts with this performance.

Besides singing her dream role of Violetta for the first time anywhere, soprano Diana Damrau was also RIGOLETTO's Gilda in the Met's new 'Ratpack' production that was seen by millions worldwide as an HD broadcast in February. And, oh yes, there was the arrival of her second son, Colyn, whose impending birth late in 2012 had sent the opera world into a tizzy, when Mama Damrau began cancelling performances.

Washington National Opera presents German soprano Diana Damrau in recital as part of its Celebrity Concert Series on Monday, April 8 at 8 p.m. in the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater. Accompanied by harpist Xavier de Maistre, Damrau will perform selections from Schubert, R. Strauss, Hahn, Chausson, Duparc, and more.

Diana Damrau will make her role debut as the courtesan Violetta in La Traviata, conducted by Yannick Nezet-Seguin in his first Met performances of the Verdi tragedy. Saimir Pirgu sings Violetta's lover Alfredo, and Placido Domingo sings the role of Alfredo's father, Giorgio Germont, in this revival of Willy Decker's 2010 production. This season's performances will be Damrau's first time singing the role of Violetta anywhere, while Domingo will move from the tenor role of Alfredo, which he has sung at the Met numerous times since 1970, to the baritone role of Giorgio.

The Metropolitan Opera's 2013-14 season will feature many of the world's greatest singers, conductors, and theater artists in 26 operas, including six new productions, of a varied repertory that ranges from the Baroque era to the 21st century. Met Music Director James Levine will return to the Met podium for the first time in two years, conducting three operas with which he has long been associated: a new production of Verdi's final masterpiece Falstaff, Mozart's Cosi fan tutte, and Berg's Wozzeck. Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi will be conducting two operas in the 2013-14 season, Rossini's La Cenerentola and Puccini's Madama Butterfly.

The Metropolitan Opera's 2013-14 season will feature many of the world's greatest singers, conductors, and theater artists in 26 operas, including six new productions, of a varied repertory that ranges from the Baroque era to the 21st century. Met Music Director James Levine will return to the Met podium for the first time in two years, conducting three operas with which he has long been associated: a new production of Verdi's final masterpiece Falstaff, Mozart's Cosi fan tutte, and Berg's Wozzeck. Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi will be conducting two operas in the 2013-14 season, Rossini's La Cenerentola and Puccini's Madama Butterfly.

The Metropolitan Opera's 2013-14 season will feature many of the world's greatest singers, conductors, and theater artists in 26 operas, including six new productions, of a varied repertory that ranges from the Baroque era to the 21st century. Met Music Director James Levine will return to the Met podium for the first time in two years, conducting three operas with which he has long been associated: a new production of Verdi's final masterpiece Falstaff, Mozart's Cosi fan tutte, and Berg's Wozzeck. Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi will be conducting two operas in the 2013-14 season, Rossini's La Cenerentola and Puccini's Madama Butterfly.

In a bold new production, Tony Award winning director Michael Mayer has set Verdi's towering tragedy in the bright lights and seedy underbelly of 1960's Las Vegas.

Rigoletto, one of Verdi's most famous and popular operas, will be broadcast live on the Peterborough Players big screen today, February 16, 2013, at 1:00 pm, as part of the Metropolitan Opera's The Met: Live in HD 2012-13 season. Tickets are $25 for adults and $20 for students.