Latest Opera News
Voigt shocked paper ran her photo with Freni's obituary
Deborah Voigt was in California earlier this week when she got a text from a friend on the East Coast. "So sorry to hear the news of your passing," read the Monday message. The Gazzetta di Parma newspaper in Italy had run an obituary of Mirella Freni, the great Italian soprano who died Sunday at age 84. It was...
Heggie's `Dead Man Walking' gets Met Opera premiere in 20-21
NEW YORK (AP) — After years of pushing, Joyce DiDonato has been granted a big wish: The Metropolitan Opera is mounting Jake Heggie's "Dead Man Walking" for the mezzo-soprano next season. Twenty seasons after the work's world premiere, it arrives at the Met on April 8, 2021, in a production directed by Tony...
Kurtág opera to get US premiere from NY Philharmonic in 2021
NEW YORK (AP) — The American premiere of György Kurtág's "Fin de Partie," based on Samuel Beckett's "Endgame," will be presented by the New York Philharmonic in June 2021. The Philharmonic announced its season Wednesday and said the opera will be given staged performances on June 10 and 12 at...
Renowned Italian soprano Mirella Freni dies at age 84
Mirella Freni, an Italian soprano whose uncommon elegance and intensity combined with a sumptuous voice and intelligence to enthrall audiences for a half-century, has died at age 84. Freni died Sunday at her home in Modena, Italy, from a degenerative muscular disease and a series of stokes, according to her...
Famed Welsh singer Bryn Terfel breaks ankle in three places
CHICAGO (AP) — Bryn Terfel broke an ankle in three places and will have surgery this week, causing him to cancel what would have been his first performances at the Metropolitan Opera since 2012. The 54-year-old Welsh bass-baritone had been scheduled to star in a new production of Wagner's "Die Fliegende...
`Eurydice' heads to LA Opera and then the Met
NEW YORK (AP) — More than 70 composers from Monteverdi to Glass have written operas inspired by the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, but that didn't deter Matthew Aucoin from adding his name to the list. “I think musicians love the idea that music can bring people back from the dead,” Aucoin...
Detroit orchestra names Jader Bignamini next music director
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Symphony Orchestra on Wednesday announced the selection of Italian conductor Jader Bignamini as its next music director. The century-old orchestra said it signed a six-year contract with Bignamini, starting with the 2020-21 season. He will lead a three-concert home stand this...
Experts defuse World War II bomb in German city of Cologne
BERLIN (AP) — Explosives experts on Tuesday successfully defused an unexploded American bomb from World War II in the western German city of Cologne, authorities said. The 500-kilogram (1,100-pound) bomb was found Monday evening during construction near the Rhine River in the center of the city. A TV...
Brazil fires top culture official over Nazi-linked comments
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Outrage rained on Brazil's government from across the political spectrum after the culture secretary used language similar to that of Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels in launching an arts initiative focused on nationalism and religion, forcing President Jair Bolsonaro to fire him...
Winds damage historic building in western NY, cause outages
ATTICA, N.Y. (AP) — High winds were blamed for thousands of power outages and the partial collapse of the historic Williams Opera House in the Wyoming County village of Attica early Sunday. A large section of the opera house's brick rear wall collapsed around 6:30 a.m., causing part of the second floor to...
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