“Is this what they call a ‘textured’ performance?”
A gnawing sense of déja vu kept invading my thoughts during the second half of Bellini’s Norma Monday evening: I was reminded of the Met’s Opening Night two years ago when the audience got a new dark, dull Otello that didn’t at all improve on the production it was replacing. Read more »
I don’t usually attend a performance of an opera I’ve known well most of my life expecting a revelation, but exactly that happened Sunday afternoon at The English Concert’s presentation of Handel’s Ariodante conducted by Harry Bicket and starring a sovereign Joyce DiDonato in the title role. Read more »
Vocal luster, magnetic stage presence, and a sense of the sheer love of singing makes every appearance by soprano Renée Fleming an unforgettable evening. Renowned for her “big, beautiful voice” (The New York Times) and uncanny ability to communicate the essence of a song or operatic aria, Fleming is simply an irresistible performer. Joined by pianist Inon Barnatan, the soprano offers an eclectic program traveling from the heights of German Romanticism to contemporary American song. (Photo: Decca/Andrew Eccles) Read more »
The Bayerische Staatsoper just announced, in addition to their usual bounty of webcasts, two special presentations: a repeat of Semiramide and a live telecast of Andrea Chenier. Read more »
Watch and discuss, cher public, as the Bayerische Staatsoper streams a new production of Rossini’s Semiramide boasting a starry cast including Joyce DiDonato, Alex Esposito, Daniela Barcellona and Lawrence Brownlee.
Joyce DiDonato’s atest album, In War & Peace: Harmony through music, is more specific than it sounds.
“Grammy Award winner and international opera star Joyce DiDonato will perform on October 3 in White Rabbit Red Rabbit.”
The Richard Tucker Music Foundation’s annual gala promises (note, promises) a particularly glittery roster this year.
“The Met also said a new production of Bellini’s Norma with Anna Netrebko and Joyce DiDonato will open the 2017-18 season.”
La Cieca finds it difficult to imagine any more offbeat casting than the sublime Joyce DiDonato as “The Worst Singer in the World.”
The sound of Joyce DiDonato, Lawrence Brownlee and John Osborn nailing La Donna del Lago’s thrilling second-act trio alone made worthwhile enduring one of the ugliest, most bone-headed productions seen at the Metropolitan Opera in many a year.