Whitney George, Bea Goodwin, stage and music directors / Images are courtesy of dell’Arte Opera Festival
Join dell’Arte’s inspiring young singers this August 10-25 as we celebrate the contributions of great female composers in a thrilling exploration of Voices from the Tower
Our August mainstage productions are “La liberazione di Ruggiero” by Francesca Caccini (1625), playing opposite the World Premiere of dell’Arte’s first commissioned piece “Princess Maleine” by Whitney George and Bea Goodwin. All productions are offered with orchestra and English surtitles at the handicap-accessible La Mama Theatre on East 4th Street as part of their “Summer Shares” program. You can also see “Scenes from the Tower” featuring excerpts by T. Musgrave and V. Bond and all of Viardot’s charming “Cendrillon”.
La Liberazione di Ruggiero(Francesca Caccini, 1625)
August 10, 11m, 15, 17, 23, 25m
Princess Maleine (Whitney George, libretto by Bea Goodwin) World Premiere
August 16, 18m, 20, 22, 24
Scenes from the Tower
August 21, 24m
Cendrillon (Pauline Viardot, libretto by Pauline Viardot, 1904)
Mary, Queen of Scots (Thea Musgrave, libretto by Thea Musgrave, 1977)
Mrs. President (Victoria Bond, libretto by Hilary Bell, 2001)
Les Boulangers (Lili and Nadia Boulanger)
August 17m
Works (TBA) by sisters Lili and Nadia Bolanger performed as a recital by members of dell’Arte ensemble and cover artists, accompanied by dell’Arte musical staff.
The most Romantic Mozart masterpiece fills the Met Opera house with delightful music and incredible singing; performances run thru April 18, 2019
Luca Pisaroni as Don Giovanni and Rachel Willis-Sørensen as Donna Anna in Mozart’s “Don Giovanni.” Photo: Marty Sohl / Met Opera
Delicious music, dynamic staging, and incredible singing are all on view in the Metropolitan Opera production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Bringing much-needed theatricality and energy to the centuries-old genre of dark comedy, the vibrant arias of the sopranos that vie for and suffer from the frivolity and ferocity of the Don are contrasted with the lower register voices of the male cast, who are well-meaning but helpless. The built-up tensions can only be resolved by a divine intervention, stressing the intransigent nature of philanderers and seducers. And Mozart’s music rescues the improbable plot!
This year Don Giovanni cast features bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni and baritone Peter Mattei alternating in the title role, bass Ildar Abdrazakov and bass-baritone Adam Plachetka as Don’s servants, and an exciting line-up of sopranos Rachel Willis-Sorensen, Federica Lombardi, Aida Garifullina, Guanqun Yu, and Susanna Philips in the roles of Donna Anna, Donna Elvira, and Zerlina.
On the first 3 nights of the performances the tender and soaring lines by grieving Donna Anna (Rachel Willis-Sorensen) and the wordy and artistically rich roles of Leporello (Ildar Abdrazakov) and the Don (Luca Pisaroni) were rightfully rewarded by the audience. Thanks to the tactful casting the old tale looks fresh and engaging. But the strongest round of applause still belongs to Mozart for his unbeatable musical fete.
Vibrant production by Sir David McVicar of the beloved Verdi’s opera on January 22 – February 15, 2018
Anita Rachvelishvili as Azucena in Il Trovatore/ Image courtesy of the Met Opera NYC
This year repertoire at the Met Operais clearly dominated by Sir David McVicar’s productions. Il Trovatore, which first had opened here in 2009, is returning to the Met stage with a formidable cast under the baton of Marco Armiliato. The title role in this production is forcefully performed by Yonghoon Lee, the role of his lover Leonora is sung by Jennifer Rowley and the role of Count Di Luna is performed by the baritones Quinn Kelsey and Luca Salsi. After the opening on Monday, January 22, the praising reviews were given to the magnificent Georgian mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili performing the most complicated part of the opera, a gypsy Azucena. Book your tickets here.
Jennifer Rowley as Leonora in Il Trovatore / Image courtesy of the Met Opera NYC
Il Trovatore’s catchy, disturbing and at the same time melodic music score is overplayed on a macabre plot of medieval rivalries, superstitions and love stories. It is based on a successful play El Trovador (1836) by Antonio García Gutierrez. Verdi had started the work on this opera sometime in 1850 first with the librettist Salvadore Cammarano and later after Cammarano’s death in 1852 with young poet Leone Emanuele Barware. In his correspondence with Cammarano Verdi kept asking him for packing more actions in the libretto to make the most effect on the public. The librettists seem to succeed in that regard. Notwithstanding opera’s great acclaim by the audiences around Europe, the plot was mocked in numerous satires in Italy and elsewhere, which in itself was a sign that its a hit. The twists and turns of the original tale are transformed in this production from the very distant beginning of 15th century Aragon, Spain to the time of the Spanish War of Independence (1807-1814) fought against Napoleonic France. The bitterness and horrors of that period are memorialized in Goya’s “Desastres de la Guerre.”
The creators of this production felt that the time of Peninsular War “fits with Verdi’s tinta, the dark palette he creates for Spain” as McVicar pointed out in an interview with the New York Times. However, some critical elements of the plot in Il Trovatore particularly those surrounding Azucena and her fate seem to be mooted for early 1800. While in the gypsy folk tradition the fire is believed to be the means of communication with the dead, it makes sense for gypsy Azucena’s story and its horrific prominence in the original play set in the 15th century as burnings of sorceresses at the stake were widely practiced. At the time of Napoleon, the use of that practice is highly questionable.
Quinn Kelsey as Count Di Luna, Yonghoon Lee as Manrico, Jennifer Rowley as Leonora in Il Trovatore / Image courtesy of the Met Opera NYC
Despite the pitfalls of historic transposition, Anita Rachvelishvili as Azucena is taking a center stage with her dramatic performance. It’s one thing for Azucena to sing “It makes my blood run cold”, and its very different when the delivery of the lines makes the listeners’ blood cold. “Well, it fairly freezes in your veins while watching and listening to Anita Rachvelishvili” observes Z. Wolf in his New York Times review. Rachvelishvili powerful stage presence masterfully switching from the chilling scenes of tormenting madness to the touching desperation is particularly important here. Verdi himself was thinking about Azucena as a main female character in this opera and even wanted her name to be in the title. The Met orchestra under Armiliato conducting provides superb and inspiring music. With the rest of the main cast being well-placed, the production delivers a deep and spirited theatrical impression.
Starting from 1853 when it was first performed at the Teatro Apollo in Rome, Il Trovatore entered the repertoire of every major opera house in the world. There is a rich and diverse discography with multiple variations of the best singers and conductors. Its catchy melodies had even entered the popular culture and were used in the movie and TV productions.
Discounted Tickets to the Christmas-themed concerts on December 13 and December 14, 2017
Andrea Bocelli, an Italian classical and pop music singer returns to Madison Square Garden in New York City to celebrate the holidays with his fans and followers. Bocelli will be sharing a stage with the conductor Eugene Kohn, soprano Larisa Martinez, and guest artist Heather Headley.
Bocelli grew up in the village La Sterza in Tuscany, Italy just south of Pisa where his family had a farm. Andrea started playing music from age 6. He took piano lessons and later learned to play a flute, saxophone, drums among other instruments. At about the same age after listening to a record of Franco Corelli, he showed an interest in opera music. Starting from age 14 he began participating in the singing competitions which came to establish his fame and followers. A connection to Corelli continued with Andrea attending Corelli’s master class in Turin in 1986 and later taking private voice lessons with him.
While studying and graduating with Law degree from the University of Pisa, he continued to sing performing at the bars and making tape recordings. One such tape got the attention of Italian rock star Zucchero who in 1992 was holding a tape competition among tenors for the recording of his song Miserere. Bocelli’s tape recoding of Miserere was shared with the best known Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti, who got very impressed with Bocelli’s singing. Bocelli was invited to perform in duets at Zucchero’s European tours. The duets from that tour including Misererewere released in 1994. That year the young singer became a sensation after winning a newcomer prize at Sanremo Music Festival.Pavarotti took a deep interest in Bocelli’s career and since then they sang in duets at multiple charity concerts around the world. Bocelli is recording prolifically. His discography already includes 16 operas, numerous collections of arias and songs and music videos. His latest opera recording, Aida, was released in 2016 after Turandot in 2015. It is interesting that the role of prince Calaf from Turandot was among Bocelli’s initial solo selections back in the early 1990s.
The concert at Madison Square Garden will raise everyone’s holiday spirit and will surely include many Christmas classics and popular arias sang with utmost elegance and grace. With the NewYorkPass your can enjoy a free tour of the legendary MSG arena and more!
Dates and Discounted Tickets with the code TICKETS3:
This year Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center brings back to New York a fascinating production of opera Don Giovanni. The performance will take place at the Rose Theater at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Frederick P. Rose Hall.
Mozart wrote this opera to a libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte which was based on the legend about Don Juan, a philanderer and seducer. Premiered at the National Theater of Bohemia in Prague in 1787, it was billed by Mozart himself as opera buffa. However, this particular rendition of the story is much more a tragedy and a learning lesson than a comedy or a melodrama.
Ivan Fischer, co-founder and conductor of Budapest Festival Orchestra, was also directing the production. In an interview by NPR in anticipation of the opening in 2011, Fischer points out that this dual role as conductor and director lets him offer “much more unified experience” for the actors. The resulting accents in the story are on bringing the villain to justice. The costume, stage design and casting of the students of Bucharest Acting Academy in the supporting ensemble are both innovative and highly appropriate. Instead of a singing statue, the actors costumes are designed to resemble the stones serving as both the silent elements of the design and the embodiment of the fate and consequence that gets a final say. The New York Times review of the performance back in 2011 highlights the “climactic moment staged to such haunting effect” under Fischer’s direction.
succeed in that regard. Notwithstanding opera’s great acclaim by the audiences around Europe, the plot was mocked in numerous satires in Italy and elsewhere, which in itself was a sign that its a hit. The twists and turns of the original tale are transformed in this production from the very distant beginning of 15th century Aragon, Spain to the time of the Spanish War of Independence (1807-1814) fought against Napoleonic France. The bitterness and horrors of that period are memorialized in Goya’s “Desastres de la Guerre.”
