Anna Netrebko has been named the 56th Premio Puccini recipient.

The Puccini festival announced that on Dec. 20, the soprano will receive the award in Torre del Lago.

In a statement, the organization said, “The most famous soprano in the world Anna Netrebko, “unique voice in the world” will be in Torre del Lago on Friday 20 December to receive the Puccini prize, the highest recognition of the City of Viareggio and Fondazione Festival Pucciniano awarded every year to performers, artists, and personalities of the world of opera, who have distinguished themselves for their interpretation, promotion or contribution to the work of Giacomo Puccini and to opera culture in general.”

Netrebko has performed Puccini around the world as Turandot, Mimì, Manon Lescaut, Tosca, and Musetta and has sung 28 productions in 15 different theatres/festivals in eight countries on four continents.

Of Puccini, Netrebko said, “he wrote extraordinary scores for soprano.”

The ceremony will be held at the Auditorium Enrico Caruso and will showcase Alberto Mattioli as well as Domenico Pierini and Silvia Gasperini.

Netrebko joins past winners Gianadrea Noseda, Jonas Kaufmann, Anna Pirozzi, Angela Gheorghiu, Vittorio Grigolo, Barbara Frittoli, Maria Guleghina, José Carreras, Maria Callas and Mirella Freni, among others.

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The Romanian diva was asked about the incident where she interrupted her colleague’s encore shouting “Excuse me. It’s a performance. It’s not a recital. Respect me” during the performance. She said that she has always respected the flow of an opera performance and even cited conductors who never allowed encores like Georg Solit, James Levine, and Arturo Toscanini.

She said, “I have been singing in Korea for 24 years now. In 34 years of career, together with all my colleagues, I had a principle, a backbone and a respect for opera. The opera performance must have fluency. In the theater, an actor does not repeat a monologue in a performance, because it immediately spoils the flow of the story. For me, the most important thing in opera is the story. Opera is a stage play and should not be interrupted. There were great conductors who did not even allow applause during a performance and we are talking here about Arturo Toscanini, Herbert von Karajan, Georg Solti, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta or James Levine who did not allow and did not conceive encores during a performance.”

She added that she had been asked to do an encore and flat out said no.

“In Korea, I was asked by the conductor before the second act if I would like to encore my aria, ‘Vissi d’arte,’ and the answer was categorically no. I too had huge applause at ‘Vissi d’arte,’ but I respected the artistic principle to the end.”

Gheorghiu added, “We discussed this very thing before these shows and agreed with the production team and the conductor that there would be no encores. Technically speaking, I enter the stage immediately after my colleague’s aria, I have to take a step, or, if he encores, I have to go backstage, I take a step back to wait for him.”

The diva also took a dig at Jonas Kaufmann and the incident in 2016 when following an encore of “E Lucevan le Stelle,” Gheorghiu did not come out and the tenor told the audience “Non abbiamo il soprano.” Kaufmann sang in Puccini-like strains before the opera was stopped and had to restart. She also inferred to helping Kaufmann elevate his career to stardom.

Gherghiou said, “In Vienna, I went right into the booth, because it was close to the stage, only after the encore of my colleague – the tenor whom I helped a lot in his career over time, and who had told me during the rehearsals that he wouldn’t accept encores – there was no more applause. Not at all. So I had to run out of the booth to get on stage. The conductor, or in these cases the conductor together with the tenor, decides whether to resume the aria. And the reactions were not spontaneous, but pre-programmed. Also, let me tell you a secret: an encore never sounds better than the first time you sang the aria. In a personal concert, which you’re only invited to do if you’re a big name, you can do as many encores as you want, it’s your concert. But in a show, you respect the score.”

The soprano also incorrectly stated that both tenors have only encored when she is on stage. She said, “It is also worth noting that these tenors have never done encores on stage during opera performances, except in those where they sang with me.”

Kaufmann made history alongside Sondra Radvanovsky in 2019 when both stars made encores during a performance of “Tosca” at the Teatro Real de Madrid.

In the interview, Gheorghiu also spoke about turning down roles and the fact that she has never suffered vocal issues unlike some of her colleagues who ended up in doctors for accepting roles that were too heavy for their voices. She also spoke about the modern diva and addressed the fact that many have called her difficult. She said, “Yes, I turned down more than half of the show proposals, especially the modern ones. I have nothing against them if they respect the story, the libretto, but if this modernism becomes aberrant, I don’t want to take part in it.”

The interview also goes into the importance of recordings and leaving a legacy behind, her work with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra during the pandemic, and the importance of education in schools. You can read the entire interview here.

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The Spanish opera coliseum opened its 2024-25 season with the worldwide recognized production of Francesco Cilea’s “Adriana Lecouvreur” by David McVicar and two excellent casts, streaming a live performance on Live Screens all over Spain (on the 28th of September) and on a wide screen in the back facade of Teatro Real.

David McVicar’s Production Perspective

David McVicar is one of the most acclaimed and proliferous stage directors nowadays. His productions are seen at major opera houses all over the world. This production of Cilea’s masterpiece, which premiered at the Royal Opera in 2010 with the operatic stars Angela Gheorghiu and Jonas Kaufmann, has been seen in theatres such as the Met, Paris Opera, Milan, EL Liceu and the San Francisco Opera.

McVicar began his career as a “concept director” with abstract and modern productions, including his Royal Opera “Rigoletto”. His style has developed into staging big classical period productions, similar to Zefirelli’s style, but with a modern realistic acting approach, and his “Adriana” was no exception. It includes beautiful luxury period sets and costumes paired with detailed and realistic acting. He played with the profusely done “theatre within theatre” which is perfectly justified in this occasion as the first act happened backstage, in the wings of the stage of the Comedie-Française, and the titular role is an actress.

He set the four acts within this big eighteenth century stage made of wood, inspired by the baroque theatre at Bayreuth, and with sets made of painted canvas which presides the stage. This wooden theatre appears completely bare and empty for the last act. Most of the action and singing happens in front of this stage, which places the singers at the very front, supporting them in their projection and making the acoustics ideal. The sets by designer Charles Edwards are beautiful and very detailed. It is such a pleasure to be able to see period productions well done today, instead of the abstract and conceptual productions which are usually presented.

A Singer Who Acts or an Actor Who Sings?

There are very few times when one can see such an electrifying and powerful performance, as it happened at Teatro Real when Ermonela Jaho and Elīna Garanča were on stage together. Despite all the melancholic love and drama moments, the highlight of the performance was the third act when the two singers barely sing a few lines. They stayed in character with precise determined emotions, stealing the attention from the ballet or even the tenor narrating his battle in the middle. Garanča stayed authoritarian but cynical. It was amazing how she gave air to Adriana with her fan after she fainted and how she kept the wicked mood, trying to read Adriana’s thoughts, but always full of malice. Ermonela on the other hand tried to hide her love feelings for Maurizio and stayed calm, dissimulating her real emotions until the very end where she finally defends herself by attacking the princess through the monologue of Fedra. It is magical, and rarely seen, when such tension and chemistry like this happens on the stage.

Ermonela Jaho as Adriana transformed completely into this eighteenth century actress, full of passion. Jaho is the type of artist where one would not know if she is a singer who acts or an actress who sings. Her implication and dedication to her roles is outstanding, and Adriana was no exception. She has already performed the role in Oviedo and Sydney, and would have more opportunities if this opera were programmed more (it is rarely performed). I am sure that Adriana will become one of her signature roles, such as Violetta or Butterfly.

Jaho’s first spoken lines were a sign of how her performance was going to be. She began “Io son l’umile ancella” in a soaring mezza voce which continued throughout the whole aria before finishing in a dramatic crescendo to a forte high A flat. She began portraying a secure diva, but she delineated perfectly the dramatic arch from the actress in love to the woman who feels betrayed and abandoned. But she doesn’t play the obvious, you could tell that she tried to keep her dignity during the whole third act while the Princess is testing and provoking her. Her chest register’s strong line “la mia rivincita” was hair-raising. Her interpretation of her fourth act aria, “Poveri Fiori,” was full of pianissimi, mezza voce, in contrast with chest register lines and forte high notes, finishing with a soaring pianissimo. It was a lesson of vocal characterization and how to put all the emotions to the service of the music. From the moment she inhales the poison as she opened the small chest with the poisoned violets, one could see how she deteriorates gradually, before hallucinating and finally dying in her lover arms. Her way of singing “Quale amore? Costei me lo ruba” with a suffocating voice was incredible, as was her raising her line “Scostatevi, profane! Melpomene son io.” She was physically crying for most of the fourth act, which is a challenging thing to do while singing as crying tends to close the throat making voice production weak or non-existent. She was really devastated during her last act, and you could tell how she was emotionally affected during her curtain call.

Illuminating Moments

Maurizio, Adriana’s lover, was performed by the American tenor Brian Jagde. He has a modest middle range with a strong top ringing high range, where his voice grows up in volume and carries over the orchestra like thunder. His high notes are really outstanding, but you cannot sustain a role only with good high notes, especially when the part is written mostly in the middle register with few ascensions to high notes. His first aria, “La dolcissima effigie sorridente,” showed his inability to sing dynamics in the passaggio or higher. Cilea demands mezza voce, and singing “dolce” for the line: “Bella tu sei,” but the tenor can only sing diminuendo when singing below F inside the stave, so he mostly sings forte, showing off his top ringing high notes. And this was his standard for the rest of the show: strong high notes (up to B natural) and heroic singing with very few dynamics. His intent to sing his final high B flat “Morta!” with pianissimo sound turned out to be a weak white sound close to cracking and with dubious pitch at its attack. I couldn’t tell if the note was emitted in mezza-voce or falsetto as the timbre changed a lot getting a white quality (which is one sign of singing in falsetto). His acting was lacking in depth, with stock gestures and posturing contrasting with the rest of the cast’s more immersive interpretations.

It is a luxury to have an artist such as Elīna Garanča singing such a small part as the Princess of Bouillon, although it is a very important character in the plot. Garanča has a beautiful dark timbre, completely even from her lower register up to her high register. Her voice is powerful, gains volume as it raises up in her tessitura, and her projection is mesmerizing. Her interpretation of her second act aria “Acerba voluttà!” showed her vocal and acting flexibility to switch from rage and fury to regret and abandonment, with rotund low passages and top ringing high G and A. Her short duet with Maurizio was ardent and her final scene with Adriana was thrilling and full of tension. As I mentioned before, it was in the third act where the mezzo soprano barely sings, and all her dramatic potential was put the test as she kept a defying attitude, confronting Adriana with constant irony before the final out burst as Adriana verbally attacks her from the stage.

Both Jaho and Garanča received strong standing ovations at their curtain calls.

More Cast Highlights

The Italian baritone Nicola Alaimo played the role Michonnet. He has a warm timbre with a natural emission. His voice production is completely effortless from his bottom range up to a high F sharp (which is the highest note he has to sustain in this role). His first solo intervention, “Michonet, su! Michonet, giú!”, showed his immaculate Italian diction and perfect phrasing. And the interpretation of his first act aria, “Ecco il monologo…” was exceptional, especially his vocal qualities and his use of dynamics. The rest of his part is mostly in ensemble. One could see that he was noticeably moved during the fourth act, matching the emotions of the soprano, as he was in tears during the last part of the act.

Mikeldi Atxalandabaso played the short supporting role of the Abate. I will never understand why an artist with such an exceptional voice, technique, projection and acting skills has been delegated to play secondary roles. And he is an expert in this field. But the opera world is missing an outstanding tenor. Nevertheless, it was a pleasure to see his funny characterization full of mannerism and hear his beautiful projected voice.

Nicola Luisotti conducted while controlling the volume of the orchestra (although the orchestra was formed by a small ensemble of musicians, which is less than they use when performing Puccini or Verdi). This made it was possible to hear all the singers, for once (it is Luisotti’s trademark to play as loud as possible). It made the performance very enjoyable. Luisotti is very good with the expansive Italian lines, and although he reinforced the timbral richness of the joyful moments in act one and three, it is in the pathos and sadness of the fourth act where the orchestra succeeded the most. Outstanding as usual is the work of the orchestra and the very few interventions of the choir of Teatro Real.

This was an unforgettable evening, seeing the confrontation of two amazing artists such as Ermonela Jaho and Elina Garanča, with David McVicar’s beautiful classical and detailed production.

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Jonas Kaufmann – its titular singer – represents the main selling point. The German tenor is his usual self, both suave and nonchalant, albeit constrained vocally to some unusual huskiness, and a propensity to use the voix mixte instead of his signature muscular sound. Unfortunately, his prolonged efforts do not hold their own, as his multiple partners fail to raise the proverbial heat above lukewarm temperatures at the very best. His “Love Affairs,” if anything, are a tepid postlude, rather than an eruptive celebration of Puccini’s romantic genius.

An Affair à Six

The title alludes to Puccini’s many infidelities which have repeatedly put his marital relationship to the test: from the uncovered liaison with the mysterious Cori – nicknamed “La Torinese” – to his tragically, and unjustly presumed affair with the young housekeeper, Doria Manfredi. Each has, to some extent, reverberated in his operas, and the relationships between tenor and soprano in particular.

More prosaically, the album reprises the template of Roberto Alagna and Aleksandra Kurzak’s “Puccini in Love” (2018; also on Sony Classical). But Kaufmann, not content with just one duetting partner, took it upon himself to engage six of the world’s leading sopranos for a different role each. The results, far from being fortuitous, appear mixed: Netrebko is a very matronly Manon Lescaut whose frivolity barely translates to anything more than a pastosely layered emission, particularly in the lower register. Similarly, Sonya Yoncheva’s Tosca remains strangely nondescript, and Maria Agresta – as Butterfly – does not nearly display the urgency Angela Gheorghiu so eloquently conjured in EMI’s 2008 recording of the complete opera (opposite Kaufmann, as well). By far the most idiosyncratic are both excerpts from “La Fanciulla del West,” brought to life by Malin Byström’s intrinsic vulnerability, and endless compassion clad in a steely timbre (not unlike Mara Zampieri), and intelligent phrasing.

“The Boy of the Golden West”

Johnson is also Kaufmann’s best role, as it significantly deviates from the Puccinian youthfulness ascribed to the composer’s earlier operas. He relies on a certain playfulness, liberties perhaps in phrasing the lines which one would not typically expect from an Italianate tenor. The distribution of accents, for instance, in the ariose “Quello che tacete”, or the performative and suave “Avrei voluto salire… nella vostra capanna” are discretionary concessions to a more logocentric, if not Wagnerian, approach.

For obvious reasons, this proves less effective in the triad of “La Bohème,” “Tosca,” and “Madama Butterfly,” where the vocal limits are less easily camouflaged. In “O soave fanciulla” (with the alluring Pretty Yende) Kaufmann resorts to a slightly odd voix mixte on the culminating “amore;” conversely, the high C in “Che gelida manina” rings freely, albeit with considerably less luminosity than in “Romantic arias” from 2008.

As Cavaradossi, he generously spins the legato from “s’affisa intero” to the beautifully transitioned “occhio all’amor soave.” Yet the vocal profile does not match the painter’s hot-blooded exuberance, and while flawless otherwise the singing’s gently toned-down character feels suspiciously disengaged. Part of the malaise stems from the recording conditions: Asher Fish’s orchestra was taped separately from the singers, making every attempt to achieve deeper levels of dramatic syntony a painfully taxing enterprise. It is best in the quasi-symphonic backdrop of “Madama Butterfly,” where the Israeli conductor effectively dwells on chromatic variability.

A Marketing Affair

Not unexpectedly perhaps, Kaufmann’s compilatory love affairs do not match the artistic craftsmanship of his earlier publications, notably his 2015 monograph (with Antonio Pappano). Gone is the seductiveness with which Kristine Opolais appeased his intemperate Des Grieux; gone is also the roundness, let alone the spontaneity of his Rodolfo. Instead, there is a tendency away from the mellifluous towards the slightly choppier, if not mannered, enunciatory style of the dramatic heavyweights, Johnson and “Il Tabarro’s” Luigi in particular.

It suits him well, and despite Kaufmann’s recent health concerns, “Puccini: Love Affairs” is a powerful reminder of his enduring vocal charisma, and ability to draw its very limited set of antiheroes in finely shaded chiaroscuro. But overall, it is not enough to evince the lingering suspicion that market conditions have yet again taken precedence over the quality of execution – after all, the centenary does not just represent a cultural opportunity, but also a monetary one.

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Throughout the entire history of opera, from its beginning in the Francophile 18th century to the American 21st, there have been numerous moments which stand out as having been controversial of their time and controversial even today due to the contentious nature of the events. If one looks to contemporary issues like Anna Netrebko’s alleged blackface while participating in Verdi’s “Aida” at the Arena Di Verona, Jonas Kaufmann’s historical legacy of cancelling concerts, Angela Gheorghiu’s inter-performance outbursts, or even further back in time like the Berlin Deutsche Oper cancelling their 2006 production of Mozart’s “Idomeneo,” the premiere of John Adam’s “Death of Klinghoffer“’ or the recent ordeal with the Korean Broadcasting System’s choice to air Puccini’s “Madame Butterfly” on the Korean “Day of Liberation,” there is enough activity to fill a lifetime and then some. 

However, certain events stand out as having had far-reaching impacts on the trajectory of opera than others, with some being more controversial than others, more adventurous than disquieting, or even more progressive than traditional. In fact, the legacy of concerts where fights and other audience quarrels broke out is something of a historical constant, from the 18th to the 21st century, from Berlioz to Stravinsky to Steve Reich! Not only that, from having an all-female cast of Mozart’s ‘The Magic Flute,’ to Tobias Kratzer’s “Tannhäuser” in 2019 at the Bayreuth Festival, artistic choices sometimes do not have the impact as once thought, nor are they exceptional in design.

Safe to say, there many good choices but there are as many bad choices which end up turning off audiences from opera. Of course, dramatic budget cuts to opera funding throughout England, Bayreuth’s recent reduction in their paid opera choir size, and the Metropolitan Opera’s endowment reduction, all speak to an exceptionally precarious future for opera, one where funding is becoming an increasingly difficult topic of discussion but one which must be talked about regardless. Despite the many controversies plaguing the artform, opera has generated great change throughout the world, and without your support, the future of opera cannot be so easily guaranteed. In this article, we’ll take a look at three notable controversies in opera history, beginning with one of the biggest from the Francophile 18th century to one of the (many) biggest of our time in the American 21st century.

The ‘Querelle des Bouffons’ (Paris, 1750s)

What opera looks like today could have been much different had the fight between the Italian “opera buffa,” or the more everyday humorous type, and the Francophile “tragédie lyrique,” or the more serious variety, and the implications of the choice to let Italian ‘comic opera’ gain a Francophile presence. Dubbed the “Querelle des Bouffons,” or “War of The Comic Actors,” this debate between those preferring the opera descending from the “opera seria” versus those who were for opera of the lighter, more entertainment, and working-class oriented variety, was contributed to by many of the great French philosophers of the day, each with their own position. 

Jean-Jacques Rousseau, author of the famous 1753 “Letter on French Music” (“Lettre sur la musique française”), supported Italian opera, “I confess that French musicians are in a state of feeling beauty, and I would willingly say of [Giovanni Baptista] Pergolesi…that he has already made a lot of artistic progress,” referring to the opera, “La serva padrona.” By the 1750s, the debate was largely over as Italian ‘opera buffa’ was successfully integrated into the Francophile operatic context, and with the rise of composer Jean-Philippe Rameau and his usage of comic opera as early as the 1740s in his opera, “Platée,” those who didn’t like the style were forced to back down on the matter. 

During the 20th century, however, the quarrel’s legacy could be felt in the French operas produced which took from Italian lyricism and French harmonic richness, Pauline Viardot’s “Cendrillion” (1904), Ravel’s “L’heure espagnole” (1911) and Poulenc’s “Dialogues of the Carmelites” (1956) two examples. Contemporary French operas like Kaija Saariaho’s “L’Amour de loin” (2000) carried the debate through, however conceiving of the lyricism-harmony debate in greatly developed ways thanks to the sheer amount of possibilities now available.

‘The Children of Rosenthal’ (Russia, 2005)

With a libretto written by famed Russian writer Vladimir Sorokin and music by Ukrainian composer Leonid Desyatnikov, a great controversy emerged around this opera whose central story is that of an attempt to revive the existence of many great composers like Wagner, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Verdi. However, the controversial part of the story was its premiere in 2005 at the Bolshoi Opera House in Moscow, Russia. On its face, the opera is considered to be of the ‘postmodern’ quality given its numerous meta-level allusions to itself as an opera and the construction of its form, a series of operatic vignettes featuring different composers. Given that the Bolshoi is a place of exceptional art, having an opera like this performed at the house was not a small venture nor an inconsequential one either. As one 2005 CNN article put it, “Russia’s Bolshoi Theater has sparked outrage by putting on an opera that some lawmakers and a pro-Kremlin youth group say is pornographic.” 

Whether the opera actually was or was not lewd in its content is not the point as most of the controversy was around the defamation of character of music history’s great names, or at least that is what Russian Duma member Sergei Neverov would have us believe. At the time, Desyatnikov and Sorokin’s opera was the first new opera to be premiered by the house since the performance of Handel’s “Giulio Cesare” in 1979. However, most of the animosity towards the opera can be seen in the satirical, borderline absurdist, view of Stalin’s Russia by the composers, with Mozart wedding a prostitute being the cherry on top which led to the opera’s castigation among the elites.

Sorokin’s comment, “All this in parliament is simply a manifestation of savagery and ignorance,” in the decades after the performance have unfortunately become reality. As Valery Gergiev has announced, the Bolshoi has no plans on performing anything new for a very long time. It’s a shame, as there is so much from the late-Soviet and early post-Soviet period to perform and no one to listen to it. Maybe one day, this will change but the odds are slim to none.

Netrebko v. Metropolitan Opera (USA, 2023)

An unfortunate incident that resulted in the severing of ties between one of the world’s greatest dramatic sopranos and one of the world’s most important opera houses, in 2023 Russian soprano Anna Netrebko sued the Metropolitan Opera House and Peter Gelb, its current General Manager, for wrongful termination. It cannot be forgotten that after February 2022, Russian culture was seen in a vastly new way. As a result, Russian repertoire and performers of every kind were transformed, with the latter required to make political public statements.

The defendant (Gelb and the Met) argued that Netrebko was closely associated with Vladimir Putin, whereas the plaintiff (Netrebko) argued that this was not at all the case stating she is “not a political or ideological supporter of Putin, is not a huge Putin supporter.” This case had a serious impact upon Netrebko’s standings with American audiences, opera houses, and colleagues alike, and whether one likes or dislikes her, Netrebko’s career was temporarily harmed as a result of her termination. In August 2024, her discrimination case, arguing that male Russian singers were more political than her yet remain in working relations at the Metropolitan, was advanced. 

It’s rich, however, as Netrebko has spoken out against the actions of Putin many times yet these have seemingly been forgotten in the torrent of news after February 2022. Nevertheless, as the many countries of the world continue their disagreements, condemnations, and defense of Netrebko’s performance career, it should be remembered that this case represents more than Netrebko but the borderline criminal treatment of singers by institutional heavyweights. In no small way, Netrebko’s censorship represents the contemporary state of the Metropolitan Opera House in all of its glory. It remains to be seen whether that lost glory will return.

The post 3 Controversial Moments From Opera History appeared first on OperaWire.

The famed soprano stopped a performance of “Tosca” on Sunday during an encore of “E lucevan le stelle,” demanding “respect.” She was promptly booed at the curtain call and then issued a statement claiming that an agreement had been made to not do encores.

“It was agreed and confirmed with the conductor and the production team of ‘Tosca’ in advance that there would be no encores made by any of the performers. Ms. Gheorghiu believes firmly that encores outside of a concert-performance setting disrupt the narrative flow of opera,” read her statement from Gheorghiu’s management. “Despite this agreement, shortly before Act two, the conductor proposed an encore of her aria, ‘Vissi d’arte,’ which Ms. Gheorghiu again declined in order to maintain the integrity of the performance. Regrettably, this decision was not honored in the case of the tenor’s Act three aria, which Ms. Gheorghiu perceived as a personal affront, given her strong convictions on this matter.”

But the performance’s organizers are claiming that Gheorghiu is not telling the truth.

“The soprano conveyed her wish, through her manager, that there be no encores for any of the performers, including herself. However, this cannot be considered a formal agreement,” an official of the theater per The Korea Times. “The encore was decided and carried out in response to the overwhelming applause and support from the audience after the tenor’s aria. This decision lies with the conductor and is not determined solely by one singer’s preference.

“The encore was decided and carried out in response to the overwhelming applause and support from the audience after the tenor’s aria. This decision lies with the conductor and is not determined solely by one singer’s preference,” the official added.  “If the soprano felt the need to protest the disregard of her philosophy and opinion regarding encores, there were sufficient alternative methods other than disrupting the performance. It is highly regrettable that this situation unfolded the way it did.”

The post Sejong Center Official Hits Back at Angela Gheorghiu Following Soprano’s Statement on Seoul Controversy appeared first on OperaWire.

In a statement the management team said, “Ms. Gheorghiu deeply regrets the circumstances which led to the incident at Sejong Arts Center on Sunday. It was agreed and confirmed with the conductor and the production team of ‘Tosca’ in advance that there would be no encores made by any of the performers. Ms. Gheorghiu believes firmly that encores outside of a concert-performance setting disrupt the narrative flow of opera.” 

Her Management continued, “Despite this agreement, shortly before Act two, the conductor proposed an encore of her aria, ‘Vissi d’arte,’ which Ms. Gheorghiu again declined in order to maintain the integrity of the performance. Regrettably, this decision was not honored in the case of the tenor’s Act three aria, which Ms. Gheorghiu perceived as a personal affront, given her strong convictions on this matter. Ms. Gheorghiu wishes to express her profound respect and love for Korean audiences, with whom she has cherished a wonderful relationship for many years. We have been particularly concerned with the extraordinary level of abuse she has been subjected to online, exacerbated by incomplete media reports on the incident.”

The statement comes days after Gheorghiu interrupted the third act of “Tosca” when Korean tenor Alfred Kim was asked to give an encore of “E lucevan le stelle.” Per reports, the soprano walked onstage and did the utmost to stop conductor Jee Joong-bae before eventually stating out loud, “Excuse me. It’s a performance. It’s not a recital. Respect me.”

The ensuing incident caused anger with the audience booing the soprano. The opera company promptly released a statement noting, “We haven’t heard any further statements or explanations from her about this incident. We have officially filed a complaint with her management company and have formally requested an apology from Gheorghiu. We are currently awaiting her response and will determine our next steps based on her reply.”

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Per a report from the Korean Times, the soprano was upset that Korean tenor Alfred Kim was asked to give an encore of “E lucevan le stelle.” The soprano walked onstage and did the utmost to stop conductor Jee Joong-bae before eventually stating outloud, “Excuse me. It’s a performance. It’s not a recital. Respect me.”

The opera continued thereafter. She did not come out at curtain call but when escorted onstage by bass-baritone Samuel Youn, she was met with boos from the audience and ran off.

“We haven’t heard any further statements or explanations from her about this incident. We have officially filed a complaint with her management company and have formally requested an apology from Gheorghiu. We are currently awaiting her response and will determine our next steps based on her reply,” said an official from the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts per the report.

Gheorghiu pulled a similar stunt back in 2016, delaying a performance of “Tosca” when tenor Jonas Kaufmann took the spotlight with an encore of his own in “E lucevan le stelle.” Per the Korean Times, at the time of this incident, Kaufmann was force to apologize for the incident.

¿Soy yo, o siempre es un buen momento para recordar aquel día en que Angela Gheorghiu dejó tirado a Jonas Kaufmann en mitad de “Tosca”? pic.twitter.com/hyNEg6nJUw

— Aitor Merino Martínez (@aitor_mmartinez) September 8, 2024

The post Angela Gheorghiu Booed in Seoul After Interrupting Performance of ‘Tosca,’ Demanding ‘Respect’ appeared first on OperaWire.

The festival said that Joseph Calleja will perform on the stage of the Masters of Classic Festival replacing tenor Rolando Villazon, who had to cancel his concert for health reasons.

The organization added, “Despite the extremely short time, the organizer has made everything possible to ensure the audience could enjoy an extraordinary performance by the renowned tenor from Malta, Joseph Calleja.”

Calleja will perform alongside Emily Pogorelc and Michelangelo Mazza will conduct the Sofia Philharmonic at the Sala Palatului (Palace Hall).

This season Calleja returns to the Metropolitan Opera for “La Boheme” and Semperoper Dresden for “Tosca.”

Villazon returns to the stage on Sept. 11 for a performance at the  Theater Gütersloh.

The post Masters of Classic Festival Announces Cast Change for Sept. 7 Performance appeared first on OperaWire.

The Orchestre Classique de Montréal has announced that Jacques Lacombe is stepping down from his position as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor.

“The Board of Directors of the Orchestre Classique de Montréal thanks him for his contribution over the past season, and wishes him every success in his future endeavours,” said Joel Carrier, Chairman of the OCM Board of Directors, in an official press release.

Lacombe is the music director of the Vancouver Opera and has held leadership positions with the Orchestre Symphonique de Mulhouse, Bonn Opera, New Jersey Symphony, and Orchestre Symphonique de Trois-Rivières. He has also worked with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Teatre des Champs Élysées, Festival Internacional de Ópera Alejandro Granda, and the Taiwan Philharmonic National Symphony Orchestra, among others.

He has also collaborated with such soloists as  Emanuel Ax, Joshua Bell, Yefim Bronfman, Sarah Chang, Yo-Yo Ma, Branford Marsalis, Gil Shaham, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, André Watts, Diana Damrau, Joyce DiDonato, Renee Fleming, Angela Gheorghiu, Frederica von Stade, Roberto Alagna, José Cura, Dimitri Hovrostovsky and Bryn Terfel.

The Orchestre Classique de Montréal will announce its new season this August.

The post Orchestre Classique de Montréal’s Artistic Director & Principal Conductor to Step Down appeared first on OperaWire.