During a conversation with OperaWire regarding her upcoming performances of “Madama Butterfly” at the Royal Opera House, soprano Ana María Martinez related a story regarding her deep connection with the work. She narrated how during her first production of the opera at the Houston Grand Opera in 2010, her son was around the same age as the title character’s child {…}
When she was a young girl, mezzo-soprano Annalisa Stroppa would come home from school to a healthy diet of “The Three Tenors” and Mario del Monaco. Her grandparents idolized these artists and quickly impregnated their granddaughter with an unshakeable passion for opera. “That’s when I discovered I had a special voice and from then on, there was no one stopping {…}
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 {…}
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 {…}
Most opera singers can’t wait to rush in and sing their dream roles. In fact, in today’s world, with the high demand for singers to mature at an earlier age, a lot of young singers start young and end young, the pressure simply too great to sustain a lasting and healthy career. Iwona Sobotka was privy to this scenario early {…}
David Portillo’s career at the Metropolitan Opera got off to an expected start. As a lyric tenor, he sang the lead role in Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville,” an opera that he and most tenors of his FACH are quite familiar with. His debut was a huge success, the tenor earning rave reviews for his lush vocal quality and fearless {…}
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 {…}
The Wagner tenor is a rare breed, often defined by a thick and granular quality that can easily cut through the orchestra, all while singing the most difficult music in the operatic canon. When we think of Wagnerian voices, we think dark and heavy, not light and delicate. Unless of course, we are talking about Klaus Florian Vogt. Arguably the {…}
How do you maintain a dramatic soprano voice fresh? The answer isn’t always obvious for a singer of that voice type. These voices, prized for their sheer power and weight, often face the most difficult repertoire in the operatic canon, many of which can be damaging if sung too often. But for acclaimed Canadian soprano Adrianne Pieczonka, who sings Beethoven’s {…}