Patrick Carfizzi News

The Met has announced themed lineups for two weeks of its Nightly Met Opera Streams, a free series of encore Live in HD presentations and classic telecasts streamed on the company's website during the coronavirus closure. 

Inspired by the success from their safe drive-in performances of La bohème in the Fall, which heralded the return of live, in-person, opera to San Diego County since the start of the pandemic, and provided over 300 jobs to many, San Diego Opera has announced a Spring season of safe, socially-distanced, drive-in performances.

Available to season ticket holders from November 13–December 4, 2020 , Recorded on the McCaw Hall stage

As Songs of Summer, a free, 15-performance recital series concludes this week, Seattle Opera unveils its Fall Season. With a variety of free performances and programming to enjoy at home, the Fall Season was created with both artistic innovation-and public safety-in mind, said General Director Christina Scheppelmann.

This Weekend (August 15-16) in live streaming: Stephanie J. Block sings with Seth Rudetsky, Carrie reunites on Stars in the House, and so much more!

The Met has announced the Week 22 schedule for its Nightly Met Opera Streams, a free series of encore Live in HD presentations and classic telecasts streamed on the company website during the coronavirus closure.

San Diego Opera has announced its 2020-2021 season, after the premature ending of the Company's previous season this winter in response to the global coronavirus pandemic.

Saturday afternoon saw the return of Berlioz's DAMNATION OF FAUST to the Met, not seen there since 2009. Because of logistical considerations it was mounted in concert form on the stage rather than in Robert Lepage's previous staging. The concert style proved to be an extremely effective format for what Berlioz called a 'legende dramatique', a work that did not neatly fit into either the opera or oratorio category.

Perhaps as composer Gioachino Rossini believed, at certain times, life might resemble a comic opera. For opera aficionados in the Twin Cities area, MN Opera at the Ordway Center presents a beloved classic by Rossini--The Barber of Seville. In this story about a rapscallion, yet well to do  barber named Figaro created by the 18th century playwright known as Beaumarchais, Rossini added a compelling score to Beaumarchais' play to complement Cesare Sterbini's libretto that brings Figaro to operatic life. The fun loving, well loved barber in Seville features into several popular operas to become some of Rossini's favorites  MN Opera transforms the already comic opera into a tour de force production by combining extraordinary singing with a sublime cartoon framework in the tradition of the commedia dell'arte, where masks used by the actors often underscore the action.

Kansas City Lyric Opera's 2018-2019 season continues with a production of Mozart's comic opera.

Lyric Opera of Kansas City continues its 2018-2019 season with Mozart's sophisticated comedy Cosi fan tutte March 16, 20, 22 and 24 at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. The production will be sung in Italian with English subtitles. 

Wolfgang Koch has withdrawn from the Metropolitan Opera's fall performances of Puccini's Tosca, due to illness. Željko Lu?i? will now sing the role of Scarpia in the season premiere performance on October 25, and Claudio Sgura will sing the remaining six performances of the fall run.  Mr. Koch's Met debut will be delayed until March, when Tosca returns to the repertory for a spring run.

Metropolitan Maestro Carlo Rizzi's 2018-19 season includes Tosca and Mefistofele at the Met, Falstaff in Tokyo, a new production of Un ballo in maschera at Welsh National Opera and symphonic concerts in Japan, Italy and Spain

BroadwayWorld presents a comprehensive weekly roundup of regional stories around our Broadway World, which include videos, editor spotlights, regional reviews and more. This week, we feature ANNIE, TITANIC, PIPPIN and More!

Daniela Mack is Isabella, an Italian pilot, who makes an emergency landing in Algiers and is captured by its ruler, the Bey. He wants an Italian girl for a wife but she loves Lindoro, the Bey's Italian slave. L'ITALIANA has lots of good bel canto singing and plenty of comedy to keep you smiling all evening. There are three more performances, Aug 3, 9 and 17.

Music Director Thierry Fischer and President & CEO Paul Meecham today announced the Utah Symphony's 2018-19 season, with highlights including the live recording of a Berlioz album for Hyperion Records, semi-staged performances of Bernstein's "Candide" in celebration of the composer's centennial, and a cycle of Bach's six Brandenburg Concertos paired with works by the late composer Pierre Boulez. American composer Andrew Norman will be in Salt Lake City as Composer-in-Association for performances of his works and additional activities.

The trials and tribulations of the Met's new take on Puccini's TOSCA have been well documented--with all three principals replaced along with two conductors--and it would be nice to be able to say that everything came out happily-ever-after. Alas. There's nothing wrong with the company's surprise-free new take on one of Italian opera's most famous works that a stronger director couldn't come in and cure.

The Pirates of Penzance--opera or operetta? The answer to that question seems important to some opera lovers who believe a 'serious' opera company doesn't do operettas. Too bad for them if their doubts made them miss out on San Diego Opera's hugely entertaining production. A nearly sold-out audience laughed frequently as Gilbert and Sullivan made fun of inept but kind-hearted pirates, cowardly policeman trying their best, and even Queen Victoria, who made a non-singing appearance with the signature rotation of the raised royal hand. While musicologists, historians and purists at home argued about the correct classification of the work, excellent operatic singers delivered clever lyrics and threw themselves into the light-heartedly silly plot.

Bass-baritone Patrick Carfizzi will be appearing in the San Diego Opera's production of Pirates of Penzance later this month. He and I met over an informal lunch to discuss that and much more.

Central City Opera continues its 2017 summer festival with the opening of a new production of Cosi fan tutte, Mozart's comedic opera about love, deceit, and fidelity, which runs in repertory in the Central City Opera House from July 15 through August 4.