Search

The Garden Opera Company takes a professional mainstream repertoire opera production on a tour of about sixty venues in the UK every summer and several venues in Kenya, East Africa, every winter, fulfilling music director Peter Bridges aim of making opera more accessible to a wider audience. The 2006 tour of Kenya saw performances of 'La Cenerentola' in the wilds of the bush in Laikipia, and at Fort Jesus, a 400-year-old Portuguese fort in Mombasa.

This article discusses the April 18, 2002 production of 'La Vestale' by the English National Opera at the London Colesium. The author analyzes the opera's melding of key classical music styles, the rarity of performances of this piece, and provides an appreciation of performances by Jane Eaglen, John Hudson and Gerard O'Connor.

This article discusses opera productions in the United States, including stagings in Columbus, Dallas, Honolulu, Louisville, New York, and Seattle. The performances reviewed include the operas 'La fille du regiment' by Opera Columbus; 'Gotterdammerung' from the Dallas Opera's production of the 'Ring', and also 'La nozze di Figaro' and 'Tosca'; Hawaii Opera Theatre's productions of 'Salome', 'La Traviata', and 'Carmen'; Kentuck Opera's production of 'Carmen' and 'Falstaff'; the Brooklyn Academy of Music's staging of Monteverdi's operas 'Orfeo' and 'Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria'; and Seattle Opera's production of 'Madama Butterfly'.

This article discusses opera productions in Germany 2002, including peformances of 'Orfeo' in Aachen, a round-up of productions in Berlin including the big Barenboim-Kupfer Wagner production, performances of 'Das Walkure' in Cologne, performances of 'Il trovatore' at Essen, Luciano Berio's production of 'Un re in ascolto' in Frankfurt, productions of works by Heinrich Marschner in Freiburg, a production of 'Si j'etais roi' in Karlsruhe, 'Der Spiegel des grossen Kaisers' in Krefeld, 'Don Carlos' in Leipzig, Gavin Bryar's new opera 'G' at Mainz, and the Munich Nationaltheater's production of 'Manon Lescaut'.

This article discusses the operas at the 2002 Adelaide Festival of Arts in Australia, including difficulties in management and production since 2001, lading to the resignation of director Peter Sellars and replacement with Sue Nattrass. Productions at the Sydney Opera House in Australia for 2002 are also discussed, including its production of 'Le nozze di Figaro', 'Katya Kabanova', 'Fidelio', 'Faust' and 'Boheme'.

This article discusses the National Opera Studio's spring 2002 concert tour in England, with the Welsh National Opera under the direction of Julian Smith, providing an opportunity for young singers to perform, in this case at Stanwell School, Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, on March 11. Also discussed in the University College Opera's performance on March 18, 2002 at the Bloomsbury Theatre in London, England, including productions of 'Leonore', 'Gwendoline', 'Hulda', and 'King and Marshal', among others.

This article discuesses the rare theater performance of the opera 'Goyescas' by the Apollo Orchestra at St. John's, Smith Square, England on March 28, 2002. Also discussed is the April 17, 2002 performances of 'The Bear' and 'Pagliacci' by Clonter Opera, at Swettenham, Cheshire, England, which is known as a famous training ground for young opera singers.

This article discusses the April 3, 2002 production of 'Il matrimono segreto' by Les Talens Lyriques at Barbican Hall, England. The author reviews the concert performances by Matteo Peirone, Laura Giordano, Jeffrey Francis, Lorenzo Regazzo, Anna Maria Panzarella and Bernarda Fink.

This article discusses Opera Rara's production of Rossini's 'Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra' at Banqueting House, Whitehall, England, on March 24, 2002. The author analyzes the revival of this 1815 opera, its history, and the casting of the Opera Rara performance.

This article discusses 2002 opera productions of Madrid's Teatro Real, including the stage premiere of Albeniz's 'Merlin'. Also reviewed are the double-billed operas 'Babel 46' and 'L'Enfant et les sortileges'.

This article discusses opera performances at the Teatru Manoel in Valletta, Malta, including stagings of 'Cosi fan tutte' and 'La traviata'.

This article discusses the 2002 production of the avant-garde opera 'The Banquet (Talking About Love)' performed in Florence, Italy. Also discussed is Teatro Carlo Felice's production of 'Aida' in Genoa, and a performance of 'I puritani' in Trieste.

This article discusses opera productions in Metz, Nice, and Strasburg, France, in 2002 including performances of 'Jackie O', 'Il trittico', 'Suor Angelica', 'Il tabarro', 'Don Giovanni', and 'Maometto II'.

This article discusses opera productions in Graz, Klagenfurt, Linz and Slazburg, Austria in 2001-2002, including 'Norma', 'Teseo', 'The Turn of the Screw' and 'Katya Kabanova'. Opera productions in Vienna are also discussed, including 'Euridice', 'Wintermarchen', 'Der Bettelstudent' and 'La Generala'.

This article provides criticism of Richard Strauss's romantic opera 'Arabella' staged at the Theatre du Chatlet by Peter Mussbach. The author tries to overcome his negative opinions of the opera by viewing this production with a fine ensemble cast including Karita Mattila, Thomas Hampson and Barbara Bonney, and conducted by Christoph von Dohnanyi, but he still has difficulty appreciating this work; he traces some of the problems in the third and fourth acts to the original composition of the opera, which was the last of Strauss's collaborations with librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal, who died suddenly while writing it.

Various operas that were performed in Britain are reported. Anja Silja: A Portrait, a mixture of recital, interview, archive films and recordings, was filmed at Wigmore Hall on December 17, 2004 and Don Giovanni was played at the Opera North at the Grand Theatre, Leeds, on January 15, 2005.

Various operas that were performed around the world are reported. West Australian Opera has given four performances at His Majesty's Theatre of this four-way-shared production of Norma in Perth, Australia in November 2004 and the Musikwerkstatt Wien, in cooperation with the City of Vienna Conservatory, has given the first Austrian performance of Einojuhani Rautavaara's he House of the Sun on November 4 at the Jugendstil Theater.

An update of the chamber-dance-opera, and the event of Adelaide Festival of Arts, which was shared between the State Opera and the Finish National Opera, is presented. Juha Vanhakartano presented the story line and the dialogues of the opera and the words of the songs were written by Andrea rienets.

An update of the opera at Houston, an Opera 'Tosca' at New York, and an opera at Seattle are presented. Performances of different artists such as Patricia Racette with Catherine Malfitano at the opera at Houston, Karita Mattila with Siegfried Jerusalem at the New York opera are highlighted.

An update of the Operas, 'Babel 46' at the Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, 'Tosca' in Barcelona, and Nuria Espert in Madrid are described. Performances of the artists Vicente Ombuena and Ana Ibarra in the Teatre del Liceu Opera and the performances of Daniela Dessi with Ruggero Raimondi at the 'Tosca' Opera are presented.

An update of Robert Sturua, the Bolshoy Theater of Opera since its premier in 1884, is presented. Georgi AlexiMeshishvili's designs not much with the modern flair of the costumes added to the Operas were a great contribution to the opera.

An update of the opera 'Rosenkavalier' of Willy Decker in Amsterdam and the opera performed at Schouwburg in Leiden is presented. The role of Michelle Breet as Octavian, Marina Serafin as Marschallin and Katherina Muller as Sophie in the 'Rosenkavalier' Opera as well as the roles of other different artists in the Opera at Schouwburg's Opera is highlighted.

An update of the Opera fin-de-siecle of Florence, the Opera Elektra of Naples, and the Opera 'Luisa Miller' of Palerno is described. The contributions of different directors of the Operas are presented.

An update of the Kirov Opera's Gotterddammerung' presented in Baden- Baden and Berlin is described. The contributions of the artist like Valery Gergiev in the 'Gotterddammerung' Opera as well as the performance of Geraldine McGreevy in the title role of the Opera 'Alcina' is highlighted.

An update of the opera at Graz and Linz, Austria is presented. The contribution of the performances of artists Boris Stasenko in Graz and Monika Walerowicz-Barabowska's Eboli in Linz were highlighted.

'Classics for Pleasure' a series of recordings on CDs from the operas made by Saddlers Well's Opera during the late 1950's and early 1960's are reviewed. The various CDs offer a unique portrait of a specific opera company at a particular period of its existence.

An explanation is given by Helikon Dmitry Bertman, an artistic director of Moscow's Helikon Opera, about the centre of artistic world in ancient Greece whether it is a mountain of the Muses or not. The performances of different artists performing the Opera are described.

An update of 'Fidelio' the debut Opera of Robben Island with the artist Elizabeth Connell in the title role and Abel Moeng as Fernando and Moises Parker as Florestan is presented. Robben island is the island on which many of Apartheid's prisoners, including Nelson Mandela, were incarcerated.

Life of Camille Saint-Saens as an opera performer, who performed of about 100 roles in only five years at the Paris Opera is described. The Saint-Saens festival by his name at the Wigmore and Barbican halls in London provides an opportunity to assess the composer's achievement in the opera house.

A production of Hartmann's rare 'Simplicius Simplicissiums' conducted by Kwame Ryan and directed by Christyof Nel is presented. The contributions of the artists, Alice Zimmermann and Lilo Herbeth in the Opera are highlighted.

Special memories about professional debut role of Beniamino Gigli as Enzo in the Opera La Gioconda at the Teatro Sociale in Rovigo, on 15th October 1914 are described. Gigli enjoyed a professional singing career of 41 years, which is clouded by public disputes as to whether or not he was the greatest tenor since Caruso.

An update is provided about the operas performed in Chicago, New York and San Diego, in US. Various performances of Catherine Malfitano in 'Regina', Sergey Leiferkus in 'Boris Godunov' and Michael Schade in 'Les Pecheurs de Perles' are described.

An update of operas performed in Amsterdam and Rotterdam in Netherlands is presented. Various operas are reviewed including Yolanta and Samson by Netherlands opera and Jenufa by Mike Ashman.

An update of operas in Cape Town, South Africa is presented. Different performances were given by William Henry Bell and Erik Chisholm, which made a remarkable impact.

An update of operas performed in Milan, Rome and Turin in Italy are presented. Various operas reviewed are Rossini's 'Moise et pharaon', Pizzetti's 'L'assassinio nella cattedrale', and Roberto Abbado's 'Simon Boccanegra'.

An update of opera in Germany is presented. The performance of the opera Die tote stadt directed by Phillipe Arlaud at Berlin, Germany and Romeo et Juliet by Gounod at Frankfurt is reviewed.

The Stephane Braunschweig's production of Wozzeck at the Lyon Opera in France is discussed. Performances of different characters are also presented.

A review of the opera 'Das Rheingold' by the Royal Dannish Opera at Copenhagen, Denmark is presented. The contributions of the producer cum artistic director Kasper bech Holten are commended.

Serena Farnocchia makes her Canadian opera company's debut in the revival of 'Turandot' in Toronto, Canada with Deyan Vatchov as Timur. The highlights of the opera were Pavlo Hunka, Richard Marigson, Wendy Nielson and Franco Pomponi who performed excellently at the opera.

David McVicar's new production 'Don Giovanni' for theatre De la Monnaie, which reveals a great story, is an excellent contribution to opera by him. The highlighted characters of the opera among the men were Leporello, Don Ottavio and among the women were Malena Ernman and Carmela Remigio.

Two versions of the Armida story offered in Buenos Aires during October, Rossini's Armida and Gluck's Armide, and the performance of La Fille du regiment opera are described. The leading performer's works in these operas are discussed.

The Portland opera founded in 1965, Opera San Jose founded in the year 1977 and established in 1984, Opera Pacific inaugurated in 1987 are the operas mentioned after the four big operas such as San Francisco Opera, Seattle Opera, San Diego Opera and Los Angeles Opera. These smaller-sized companies also give a depth and breadth of production and long traditions that reveals a healthy industry that defies stereotype.

The contributions of the company, Seattle Opera are presented. Glynn Ross, the founding general director of the Seattle Opera is credited for the creation and foundation of the company and putting it on the international map with its production of the 'Ring'.

San Francisco opera and Los Angeles opera are the organizations that thrive on artistic collaborations. The title role of the San Francisco opera, 'St Francois d Assise' was performed by Laura Aikin and Willard White and in the Los Angeles opera- 'Don Giovanni', Adina Nitescu, Erwin Schrott and Rosendo Flores performed the main roles.

Ian Campbell, director of San Diego Opera since 1983, discusses about his life and work as a singer, manager, stage director and prize winning broadcaster. The opera Katya Kabanova is produced under his direction.

Exotic locale is shown in operas where the audience is taken on journeys to distant lands. Various operas, produced in the US, are set on California and its major cities like San Francisco and Hollywood.