Living at the Opera

Opera research tells us that, at first, Giuseppe Verdi was considering “Azucena” as the name for his 1853 opera, Il Trovatore. If the composer were still alive and had attended the opera’s December 22nd performance at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, he very well might have. There was no doubt while watching the [...]

From Seen and Heard International By: José M Irurzun; Picture courtesy of the Palau de Les Arts Reina Sofia, Valencia (below)Oksana Dyka as Cio Cio San After opening its opera season with Berlioz’s Les Troyens, Valencia returned to box-office security by programming Madama Butterfly, last performed here in April 2008. Some would say it is [...]

From Seen and Heard International By:James L. Zychowicz; Pictures © Dan Rest Leoš Janá?ek’s 1921 opera Katya Kabanova is based on the 1860 play The Storm by Alexander Ostrovsky, and the title of the source is a key element in its musical adaptation. Just as the storm is critical to Ostrovsky’s play, the tempest depicted [...]

L to R Robyn Rocklein as Elizabeth Proctor, Jennifer Beauregard as Abigale Williams and Seth Kershisnik as John Proctor in The Crucible. © The Opera Theater took a big risk this year as part of its series of presenting contemporary operas in English. After four years of successful modern productions – including a 2008 heartfelt [...]

From Seen and Heard International By: José M Irurzun; Picture © Teatro Maestranza de Sevilla Real Orquesta Sinfónica de Sevilla. Coro de la Asociación de Amigos del Teatro de la Maestranza, Conductor: Marco Guidarini. Teatro Maestranza de Sevilla. 18.11.2009. (JMI) After the performances of Alfano’s Cyrano de Bergerac in Valencia some three years ago, this [...]