Seattle Opera’s New Brünnhilde – New York-Born Soprano Janice Baird

By -

Cover Story of All-American June Issue of Opera News

June Opera News Guides Readers to Best U.S. Summer Festivals

Every June, the editors of Opera News guide readers to the finest opera festivals in the United States. This year, the spotlight is on the Pacific Northwest and Seattle Opera’s recurring Ring cycle, with the company’s new Brünnhilde, American dramatic soprano Janice Baird, featured on the cover. Ms. Baird sings in all three Seattle Ring cycles in August, under the watchful eye and ear of director Stephen Wadsworth, who pilots his production through its third series of performances in the Wagner-mad, caffeine-driven city. James C. Whitson interviews Ms. Baird, who made front-page news last season with her last-minute Metropolitan Opera debut as Isolde.

Author Brian Kellow, Features Editor of Opera News, returned to his native Pacific-Northwest to assess Seattle ’s singular atmosphere. In “The Blue and the Gray”, Kellow expatiates on the question: “When does cool turn to chill?” Anyone who’s been there, especially in summer, knows the feeling. Add green for the deep forests – especially during a Ring cycle – to the blue water and (often) gray skies, and there’s a rich palette.

Staying in the cool Pacific Northwest, Opera News also covers events in Oregon. Despite sometimes being overshadowed by its neighbor to the north, Portland is, in its cozy way, as lively as its “sister” Seattle, with thriving opera, symphony, ballet, and many other attractions, as detailed for Opera News by Oregon-based critic Richard Speer. Marjorie Sandor travels to Eugene for a visit to the Oregon Bach Festival.

As part of its June festival season, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis is presenting a scaled-down version of The Ghosts of Versailles, John Corigliano’s epic opera that was first seen as a Met commission in 1991. The Letter, Paul Moravec’s new opera based on Somerset Maugham’s play, with a libretto by Terry Teachout, has its world premiere in July at Santa Fe Opera. Barry Singer looks at these two very different works and reveals how they reflect the changing face of opera production.

The monthly Opera News supply of performance, recording, DVD, and book reviews enhances the June issue – and includes timely recommendations for summer reading and listening. The magazine’s website, www.operanews.com, always has extra features available exclusively to subscribers and Met patrons. June features hot young Latvian mezzo Elina Garanca – star of the Met’s Live in HD transmission of Rossini’s La Cenerentola in May – talking about her new recording of Bellini’s Capuleti e i Montecchi, and an exclusive free audio download of a duet between her and American tenor Matthew Polenzani.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Role of Music in Opera

By -
There are numerous books on the topic, and every composer, librettist, director, singer and audience member has their opinion as to what role the music should play in an opera. In a play without music, the words ought to support the meaning behind a character's actions. However, in the case of action movies, often times the action is what tells the story and there aren't words, just images to forward the plot. We might hear music to accompany action, build tension, but the action tells the story. Musicals tend to speak until the emotion of the moment just "has" to break out in song - unless it's something like "Mama Mia" where the dialog is the rails we travel on between songs; the songs themselves, written before the concept of the musical, are the focus of the production, while the story is secondary. Operas are a different beast. The music provides emotion to the words spoken, but it also plays the role of ambience when there is only action. In &quo
Read more

Episode 210b: Joyeuse le départ

By -
Image
Podcast:  Play in new window  |  Download Subscribe:  Apple Podcasts  |  Android  |  Google Play  |  Stitcher  |  TuneIn  |  RSS Provost Cunningham has Transmigrated, but to where! What is Dr Sage going to do with his body? And how can she bring home her friends, Abigail and Erasmus, without also bring home Cunningham? What are they going to say when they find the “skeleton” she’s hiding in her closet? Cast: Eddie Louise Clark  as Dr Sage Chip Clark  as Professor Savant Justin Bremer  as the Narrator Emily Riley Piatt  as Abigail Entwhistle, Calypso & Dean Stewart Written by  Eddie Louise Theme music by  Unwoman Sound Design by  Chip Michael
Read more

The Art of String Quartets by Brian Ferneyhough

By -
Image
When an artist sets paint to canvas, there are brush strokes used for different effects. Sometimes those strokes are subtle, imperceptible; they produce works of art like the Mona Lisa . Other times the very obvious nature of the stroke is the art, as in works by Van Gogh. With some composers of music, the notes on the page are their craft. How those notes translate into an aural experience is what defines some composers as great artists. Brian Ferneyhough has a masterful command of the techniques of putting notes on the page. These techniques are sometimes so subtle, even though written in black and white, they escape detection. Some of what he attempts with his music is just that, to escape detection, to bury the framework, diverting the ear away from the structure, so only the music is heard . The subtlety is so fine it is almost imperceptible. Even though he studied at several institutions, he is considered self-taught, studying scores from Boule
Read more