The English National Opera (ENO) announces the full details of the first ENO Drive & Live - Europe's first live drive-in opera production that audiences can safely experience from their cars.
Natalya Romaniw has been called 'the outstanding soprano her generation'. Recent work includes the lead roles in Scottish Opera's Tosca and English National Opera's Madame Butterfly, plus making her BBC Proms debut singing Rachmaninov's The Bells with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. She talks to BroadwayWorld about her remarkable career, upcoming album Arion, and keeping the music going during the shutdown.
Anthony Minghella's production of Madam Butterfly returns to the Coliseum. Premiered 15 years ago at English National Opera (ENO) and now onto its seventh revival, this popular production is back to entrance audiences with its mix of stunning cinematic imagery, traditional Japanese theatre and Puccini's powerful music.
'Messiah' is probably Handel's best-known piece; written in 1741, the oratorio was originally composed for Easter time, but you don't have to travel far to find a performance of it at this time of year. Handel at Christmas at the Royal Albert Hall is always a special, festive event. The composition has been performed in full at the venue since 1871 and, as of this month, it has been performed a remarkable 524 times.
We haven't seen a lot of Smetana's The Bartered Bride in the UK recently. Bohemia's best-loved opera is rapidly becoming one of the repertoire's best-kept secrets, which is a shame because it's an enchanting comedy, whose colourful, folk-filled score might be propelled by exotic polka rhythms, but whose human drama feels deliciously close to home.
In February this year, historian Hallie Rubenfold brought out a poignant book describing the backstories of the five women killed in 1888 by a murderer nicknamed Jack the Ripper. It has always seemed a poor reflection on society that the victims of such horrific crimes have been almost forgotten in the midst of the ever-increasing celebrity and mystery of Jack himself.
Edinburgh International Festival returns for its 73rd year on 2 - 26 August 2019, bringing the best of theatre, music and dance from across the world to Scotland's capital.
The best versions of La boheme are simple enough to let the genius of Puccini's opera shine, rather than distracting the audience with quirky updates and subliminal messages. The ENO's decision to return to Jonathan Miller's luscious production for the fourth time in a decade, is a beautifully pitched celebration of beauty in penury, love and heartbreak.
Manon Lescaut, sponsored by Viking Cruises, opens the season with the British lyric soprano Elizabeth Llewellyn in the title role. Named 'Best newcomer in opera' by The Telegraph in 2010 following her operatic debut as Mimi in La boheme at English National Opera, Llewellyn has gone from strength to strength on the international stage. She was last at OHP in 2017, as Magda in La rondine. The Welsh bass-baritone Paul Carey Jones makes his OHP debut as Lescaut. His recent career highlights include his Royal Opera House debut in The Nose and the Scottish premiere of Philip Glass's The Trial with Scottish Opera.
Investec Opera Holland Park (OHP) marked one year since the tragic Grenfell fire with the Hope for Grenfell Memorial Gala on Wednesday, 13 June. The concert was given in memory of Debbie Lamprell, a much-loved member of OHP's staff who was lost in the disaster, and all the fire's victims. All proceeds will be donated to the Rugby Portobello Trust (RPT) and the final total is still being calculated, but it is hoped to exceed £100k.
The International Opera Awards are pleased to announce the finalists for this year's Awards. These were selected by an international jury chaired by John Allison, editor of Opera magazine and classical music critic with The Daily Telegraph: 'It's gratifying to see how the International Opera Awards just keep growing. With a record number of nominations to consider, and our biggest and most international jury yet, I'm delighted to say that our exciting shortlists-covering six continents and around 30 countries-reflect the truly cosmopolitan nature of the art form. Despite the challenges faced by opera companies almost everywhere, opera is vibrantly alive.'
This autumn, Welsh National Opera return to Birmingham Hippodrome with a major presentation of three epic Russian-themed works which marks the centenary of the Russian Revolution.
This autumn, Welsh National Opera return to Bristol Hippodrome with two Russian-themed operas which mark the centenary of the Russian Revolution. Performing from 15 - 18 November, the Company will bring its productions of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin and Jana?ek's From the House of the Dead, based on the book by Dostoevsky to the city.
Incest, power trips and a rebel with a cause are a few of the things we see in Houston Grand Opera's production DIE WALKÜRE. I like to think of the opera world as an elaborate wine list. Delectable notes from a fine Merlot, Riesling or Chablis, and Houston Grand Opera's current season is packed full of operas and musicals that are sure to please any musical pallet. We are introduced to DIE WALKÜRE which is the second installment in DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN (The Ring of the Nibelung) better known as The Ring Cycle. The other operas in the cycle include DAS RHEINGOLD, SIEGFRIED and GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG.
The Houston Grand Opera's brilliant production of Mieczyslaw Weinberg's THE PASSENGER, directed by David Pountney, was a stunning visitor to the Park Avenue Armory last week as a coproduction with the Lincoln Center Festival. It's not an easy experience, but well worth the effort.
Closing their 2013-14 Season, HGO is presenting Georges Bizet's acclaimed CARMEN. For this production, Award winning Broadway Director and Choreographer Rob Ashford took the reins and has created a CARMEN that is as beautiful as it is exciting.
Ever since it premiered on Broadway in 1973, Stephen Sondheim's A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, with a book by Hugh Wheeler, has been a favorite of musical theatre fans. The Michigan Opera Theatre was the first American opera company to present the piece in 1983, and other companies followed suit. It last graced Houston Grand Opera's (HGO) stages in 1999. Now, the musical, with an extraordinary set and gorgeous costumes by Isaac Mizrahi, is thrilling Houston audiences again with HGO's latest production of this American masterpiece.