Ping, Pong & Pang – How Atlanta Opera’s Widely Traveled ‘Turandot’ Production Remains Fresh For Veteran Cast Members

Atlanta Opera is gearing up for a revival of Puccini’s “Turandot,” the iconic opera featuring arguably opera’s most iconic melody. The company, which is reviving the production by French Canadian duo Renaud Doucet and André Barbe, will feature a cast that includes tenor Gianluca Terranova and Marcy Stonikas as Turandot. Finding Deeper Meaning From Another Vision Reviving the production will {…}

Apr 24, 2017

Reviving A Master – Victor Herbert Renaissance Project LIVE! Debuts New Orchestra in ‘Eileen’

This October, Victor Herbert’s operetta “Eileen” will turn 100 years old. In anticipation of that celebration, and as a culmination of its third season, the Victor Herbert Renaissance Project LIVE! (VHRPL) will present the work. The two performances on April 25 and 26 will also feature the first time that the New Victor Herbert Orchestra debuts. Starting From Scratch The {…}

Apr 19, 2017

Forging An Alliance – How the New York Opera Fest Was Created

People don’t often think about opera in New York as extending into the summer. With the major companies ending their respective season in May, the summer is generally the time most New Yorkers associate with other activities. But that won’t be the case for the second straight year with the New York Opera Fest set to take over the city. {…}

Apr 10, 2017

Bringing New Life to Opera – How OperaRox’s Kimberly Feltkamp Hopes To Switch Up the Indie Opera Scene

“A lot of the time it’s just like jumping off a cliff because you don’t know how it’s going to go,” said Kimberly Feltkamp, the general manager of OperaRox Productions in a recent conversation with OperaWire. “I didn’t conceive of it as a company when I started it,” Feltkamp added. But strong reception to her initial project with OperaRox in 2015 {…}

Mar 29, 2017

How President Donald Trump’s Federal Budget Cuts to NEA Would Hurt Opera Companies

On March 16, 2017, President Donald Trump formally released his outline for the 2018 Federal Budget, officially making clear his intent to defund numerous agencies and projects while investing billions into the already well-funded military complex. Among the agencies getting the boot was the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), which provides tremendous support for numerous arts organizations. As noted {…}

Mar 27, 2017

Q & A: Baritone Lester Lynch on Arranging & Recording Spirituals For His New Album “On My Journey Now”

American history will forever be marked by its atrocities committed during the era of slavery. That wound remains at the forefront of our world today, even as the nation has made “progress.” Today we continue to see acts of racist violence in both outrageous and more subtle ways. Given this context, the need for conversation is at its utmost and {…}

Mar 21, 2017

The Luckiest Man Alive – 100-Year-Old Anton Coppola Looks Back On His Career & Writing a New Ending for ‘Turandot’

Anton Coppola is the luckiest guy in the world. At least that is how he views the life he has led and continues to lead. The maestro, born on March 21, 1917, and who determined his given career path during the first decade of his existence, is slated for “one last hurrah” when he conducts a final concert on March {…}

Mar 8, 2017

Q & A: Director Tomer Zvulun on ‘Dinner At Eight’s’ Comedic Drama & Contemporary Importance

Back in 1933, with the Great Depression in full swing, famed Hollywood director George Cukor released a small film called “Dinner at Eight.” Starring Lionel and John Barrymore, Marie Dressler and Jean Harlow among others, the film established the cataclysmic world event in a very intimate setting. The film became a cult classic in ensuing decades and a new version {…}

Feb 23, 2017

A Zane Grey Opera – Exploring the Creation & Production of Arizona Opera’s World Premiere of ‘Riders of the Purple Sage’

Rain was pouring down for miles while composer Craig Bohmler was on a drive through the mountain region outside Phoenix. Everywhere he looked, visibility was low and he knew that due to the strong monsoon winds, staying out in this weather was probably not a wise proposition. He eventually stopped at “the second light.” “It’s important to note that it {…}

Feb 22, 2017

‘Upon This Handful of Earth’ – How A Norwegian Composer-Writer Duo Transformed Complex Christian Philosophy Into An Opera With An Environmental Conscience

“You can write an opera about anything. Someone told me to write an opera about a telephone catalogue and I said sure. There are so many stories you could probably find. Of course that wouldn’t be easy at all but if you have a crazy idea, there is always a way out of it. It just makes you work harder. {…}

Feb 16, 2017

Artistic Bromance – How Stewart Copeland & Jonathan Moore Adapted ‘The Invention of Morel’ Into An Opera

Opera history has shown that some librettist-composer teams are matches made in heaven. Such was the case with Da Ponte and Mozart or Verdi and Boito (and Piave) or even Puccini and Giacosa and Illica. The same can be said for Jonathan Moore and Stewart Copeland. The duo has worked together throughout the years and they are back at it {…}

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