Ottavio News

The 2019 lyrical season of Sao Paulo's Theatro Municipal brings one of the most important operas of Italian romanticism, Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi. With scenic direction by Jorge Takla and musical direction by conductor Roberto Minczuk, and sumptuous scenarios by Nicolas Boni, the premiere takes place on July 20 at 20h. The recitals follow on days 23, 24, 26, 27 and 30, always at 8 pm, and on Sundays 21 and 28 at 6 pm.

On July 19th, French label Naïve Classiques will release two new volumes in its ambitious Vivaldi Edition, presenting once-lost works of Vivaldi discovered at the Biblioteca Nazionale in Turin.  The 59th and 60th recordings in the series feature contralto Delphine Galou in recital with ensemble Accademia Bizantina under the baton of Ottavio Dantone, with guest artists Alessandro Giangrande, tenor, and concertmaster Alessandro Tampieri. 

Folks Operetta continues its Reclaimed Voices Series with Paul Ábraham's exotic jazz operetta, The Flower of Hawaii featuring soprano and former Ms. Illinois Marisa Bucheit (2014) as Princess Laya/Suzanne. 

It's a fun-house mirror of Americana arcana, reminding us that the reason blood is thicker than water is because it's larded with toxic sentiment

The cast features a good many of Adelaide's favourite singers.

Paul Appleby will sing Don Ottavio in tonight's performance of Mozart's Don Giovanni, replacing Pavol Breslik, who is ill.

Juilliard's Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts, under the leadership of artistic director Brian Zeger, concludes its opera season with Mozart's Don Giovanni, conducted by Joseph Colaneri and directed by Emma Griffin, on April 24, 26, and 28, 2019.

Following yesterday's highly competitive semifinal competition, nine singers will advance to the final phase of the 65th annual Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, America's largest vocal competition. The winners will receive individual cash prizes of $15,000, while the remaining finalists will receive prizes of $7,500.

Folks Operetta continues its 2018- 2019 season of the Reclaimed Voices Series with a concert celebration of Paul Ábraham's jazz operettas in Goodbye Berlin, Aloha Hawaii! This multimedia concert, written by Hersh Glagov and Gerald Frantzen, will take place at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago, Performance Penthouse, 915 E. 60th St., Chicago

Palm Beach Opera presents Mozart's iconic opera "Don Giovanni" through the modern lens of film noir in a stylistic production at Kravis Center for the Performing Arts for one weekend only, Feb. 22-24.

Palm Beach Opera presents Mozart's iconic opera "Don Giovanni" through the modern lens of film noir in a stylistic production at Kravis Center for the Performing Arts for one weekend only, Feb. 22-24.

The disappointment was palpable when midway through the 2015-16 season it became clear that the world premiere of Frankenstein would not go ahead as planned because the set and the special effects were too exacting technically for the temporary infrastructure at Tour & Taxis. Partly because of the many film adaptations, Mary Shelley's modern myth about an idealistic, but arrogant scientist and his 'Creature' still clearly fires the collective imagination, and the expectations of Mark Grey's opera of the same name were running high. However, three seasons later La Monnaie is now more than ready to bring this production to life. All eyes are on the Polish-Lebanese conductor Bassem Akiki and the Spanish director lex Oll .

The Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio, Canada's premier training program for young opera professionals, welcomes four new artists for the 2019/2020 season: tenor Matthew Cairns, bass-baritone Vartan Gabrielian, mezzo-soprano Jamie Groote, and Alex Soloway as a pianist and intern coach. The four will join the Ensemble Studio in August 2019 and become part of a program that has launched the careers of over 230 Canadian opera professionals.

According to a quote attributed to Andy Warhol, if you want to tell a good painting from a bad one, first look at a thousand paintings; then you'll realize that there are no hard and fast rules. When it comes to performing arts and traditional repertoire, the standards are a little different. Directors, designers and cast are expected to add their two cents to work of the creators, to show their smarts and insights (or at least come up with something they think will be more meaningful to modern/younger audiences). Mozart and his librettist Lorenzo da Ponte were victims of this maneuvering in the season premiere of the Met's DON GIOVANNI.

The Metropolitan Opera presents Mozart's timeless drama Don Giovanni, with 12 performances January 30, 2019, to April 18, 2019. All performances of Michael Grandage's production are conducted by Cornelius Meister in his Met debut.

Camerata New York, now in its 18h year, kicks off the holiday season with the glorious and eternal masterpiece, Handel's Messiah with the St. Jean Baptiste Festival Chorus and top soloists in St. Jean Baptiste Church, NYC on Sat. Dec. 15 at 7:30PM "The audience is in for an exceptional presentation of all three segments of Handel's masterpiece; starting with the Annunciation, Passion, and concluding with the celebration of our Lord's resurrection. It is a great honor and glorious opportunity for the orchestra, myself, the singers and soloists to present this Beautiful work which celebrates our savior in selections from the Old and New Testament."

Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the Met's Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer Music Director, conducts five performance of Pelléas et Mélisande, Debussy's mysterious meditation on love and betrayal, January 15–31, 2019. The classic production by Sir Jonathan Miller returns to the Met for the first time since the 2010–11 season, and the cast features three young Met stars at the heart of a passionate love triangle: Isabel Leonard as Mélisande, Paul Appleby as Pelléas, and Kyle Ketelsen as Golaud. Ferruccio Furlanetto sings the role of Arkel and Marie-Nicole Lemieux makes her Met debut as Geneviève. Derrick Inouye conducts the January 31 performance.

Camerata New York, now in its 18h year, kicks off the holiday season with the glorious and eternal masterpiece, Handel's Messiah with the St. Jean Baptiste Festival Chorus and top soloists in St. Jean Baptiste Church, NYC on Sat. Dec. 15 at 7:30PM "The audience is in for an exceptional presentation of all three segments of Handel's masterpiece; starting with the Annunciation, Passion, and concluding with the celebration of our Lord's resurrection. It is a great honor and glorious opportunity for the orchestra, myself, the singers and soloists to present this Beautiful work which celebrates our savior in selections from the Old and New Testament."

Mozart's Don Giovanni is a must in every opera goer's repertoire. If you are looking for a first encounter with the Don, you could be in no more responsible hands than the Virginia Opera. The material and musical mastery are deliciously indulgent in equal measure. Director Lillian Groag's rendition is a vibrant and youthful take on the infamous playboy invigorated by lively performances. The work may be named for the relentless philanderer, but the ensemble offers a rich bounty of characters.

San Francisco Opera Center Director Sheri Greenawald today announced the 12 recipients of the 2019 Adler Fellowship. Selected from participants of the Merola Opera Program, the ten singers and two pianist/apprentice coaches begin their fellowships in January 2019. The multi-year performance-oriented residency offers advanced young artists intensive individual training, coaching and professional seminars, as well as a wide range of performance opportunities. Since its inception in 1977, the prestigious fellowship has nurtured the development of more than 180 young artists, introducing many budding stars to the international opera stage and launching active careers throughout the world as performers, production artists, arts professionals and educators.