Opera houses every music lover should visit in the States
Read on to learn more about the best opera houses across America, guaranteed to please any music lover.
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Tag: opera
Opera Australia Unveils Majestic 2024 Season
Opera Australia, the nation’s flagship opera company, has revealed a truly captivating programme for its 2024 season. The line-up is a sublime blend of timeless classics and avant-garde performances, poised to offer an opera experience like never before. The season opens grandly with the timeless spectacle of La Traviata, transported into a breathtaking realm with cutting-edge digital staging. This seamless fusion of traditional opera with modern innovation is a testament to Opera Australia’s commitment to bringing opera into the 21st century. The company continues to charm the audience with Puccini’s poignant ‘La Bohème,’ a beloved classic that has been captivating audiences worldwide for more than a century. Mozart’s evergreen masterpiece ‘The Magic Flute’ also makes a glorious return, immersing audiences in a fantastical world filled with enchanting music and whimsical charm. In a bold move, Opera Australia introduces a groundbreaking contemporary piece to the stage. This daring inclusion showcases the company’s continual endeavour to push the boundaries of opera, creating a diverse portfolio that caters to all tastes. Opera Australia’s 2024 season promises a thrilling journey, filled with exquisite performances and daring new productions. It is, without a doubt, a must-attend event for opera enthusiasts and newcomers alike. Secure your tickets now and immerse yourself in the awe-inspiring world of Opera Australia. More info at the Discover 2024 page Image: Samantha Clarke as Violetta in Opera Australia’s 2024 production of La Traviata at the Sydney Opera HousePhoto Credit: Georges Antoni
What to expect from the new season by Opera Australia
Mark your calendars for Opera Australia’s much-awaited 2024 Sydney Summer Season, brought to you by the talented guest Creative Director Lindy Hume. Get ready to experience five Sydney Opera House premieres that will leave you awestruck! This season will showcase the virtuosity of Australian talent both on and off the stage, featuring a premier selection of international guest artists. Opera Australia celebrates the potency of opera in contemporary storytelling through this carefully curated selection of operas. Inspired by the European Enlightenment Era, this season features four operas written in the 18th century. Lindy Hume, the mastermind behind this program, says the season is filled with extraordinary music, deep contemplation, and brimming with optimism for the future. With an emphasis on collaboration, this season includes milestone partnerships with Victorian Opera, Pinchgut Opera, Circa, and Opera Queensland, plus a welcome return to the Sydney Festival program. This celebratory season captures how versatile and dynamic the artform can be. Opera Australia’s CEO, Fiona Allan, explained that Lindy Hume was the perfect choice to create an interim Sydney Summer program for OA. Her season is tremendously refreshing, filled with exciting works showcasing a great breadth of artistic talent from all across Australia and around the world. Audiences will be presented with some of Australia’s brightest local and returning talent, including directors Sarah Giles and Yaron Lifschitz, conductor Jessica Cottis, and singers Samantha Clarke, Caitlin Hulcup, Michael Smallwood, Helen Sherman, and New Zealand baritone Phillip Rhodes. Join us for the debut of Kate Gaul’s fantastical and eclectic new production of… Read More
What to look forward to in Madama Butterfly on Sydney Harbour this season
There are so many reasons you need to meet the Madama herself. For first-timers, she’s approachable; for singers, she’s versatile and for veterans of Opera Australia’s productions, she’s an emotional rollercoaster that tells a story that never gets old. This year as part of Opera Australia’s Handa Opera on the Harbour, made up of it’s gigantic flotilla stage literally on the water with the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge as back drop, the Madama takes to the stage again. Having recently opened in Sydney for the season, Karah Son and Diego Torre, two of Opera Australia’s favourites, took to the stage to reprise their roles as Cio-Cio-San and Pinkerton respectively. They’re also joined by award-winning Korean Australian soprano Eva Kong. They are also joined on stage by an all-star Australian cast and the Opera Australia Orchestra under the watchful eye of Maestro Brian Castles-Onion who has conducted every opera production since the inaugural season in 2012. The set is an icon in itself, too, featuring a nature-come-urban feel you need to see in person. Highlights to look out for: Opera Australia’s Madama Butterfly is on until the 23rd of April 2023 get tickets at the Opera Australia website.
First time opera; first time opera singer – Rebecca Gulinello tell us about La Boheme in Sydney
Whether you’re an opera aficionado, or after a new experience for the first time, there’s one thing you can be sure of – you’re not alone! People from all walks of life with all kinds of musical tastes gather on a nightly basis at the world famous Sydney Opera House – which is turning 50 this year! – to see operas by the world-renowned Opera Australia company, which this season is putting on La Boheme and giving even its singers a unique first experience! New singer Rebecca Gulinello is making one of her preliminary performances in the production, taking to the stage after she only took to her first stage performance this January! We got to speak with the highly talented, new singer about her performance as Mimi in La Boheme. Here’s how it went. How excited are you to be playing Mimi this season? To be taking on this role for me is a great responsibility because this stage is my home base. Sydney Opera House is iconic and one of the most coveted stages any singer in the world wants the privilege of being able to sing on. It is where other greats have sung before me and all my incredible colleagues in the company currently perform. To believe in my own greatness and to trust in my voice, my hard work and efforts towards this debut has been the most challenging. The mindset of a singer is also similar to that of a professional athlete. You must maintain a sense of rigour, routine, mental… Read More
Opera Australia’s 2023 program – and the end of an era
Next year in 2023, Opera Australia will hit another one of its many milestones, though with a bitter-sweet undertone. Artistic Director Lyndon Terracini, the man behind the sumptuous programming and incredible progress of the company will see out his final season before moving onto other things. Though his last season will definitely not leave us wanting! In a clear indication of Opera Australia’s standing on the global stage, some of the biggest names in opera will be performing for the Company in 2023. The world’s leading tenor, Jonas Kaufmann, in demand sopranos Ermonela Jaho, Lise Lindstrom, Jessica Pratt and Amber Wagner, along with globally renowned Wagner interpreter Stefan Vinke, legendary bass Ferruccio Furlanetto and audience favourite Michael Fabiano, to name just a few, will all make very welcome returns to Australia in 2023. The season for 2023 will – as per usual – include a phenomenal line-up of productions with world-class singers from every corner of the globe. Think Chen Shi-Zheng’s amazing production of the world’s first digital Ring Cycle in Brisbane, with the cast from the original 2020 season largely intact; OA’s co-production of The Tales of Hoffmann will finally make it to the stage after being postponed in 2021 and everyone’s favourite, Alex Ollè’s Madama Butterfly. Karah Son will reprise the starring role of Cio Cio San that she performed to much acclaim for OA in the Joan Sutherland Theatre in 2019. Ultimately, 2023 is shaping up to be a year of celebration of Australian talent with many homegrown performers singing alongside their international counterparts, many in break-out roles. Among those… Read More
Otello opera in Sydney – on stage this February
With two international stars on stage for the whole run of Otello by Opera Australia, there’s more than enough reason to head to the Joan Sutherland Theatre at the Sydney Opera House. But, what’s it about? Distilled from Shakespeare’s masterpiece, Otello is an intense chamber-like opera that explores all the problems of the world, concentrated in the lives of the three main characters: Otello, Desdemona and Iago, three of Verdi’s most demanding roles, both vocally and dramatically. These roles will be incredibly performed by OA favourites Yonghoon Lee, Karah Son all conducted by Andrea Battistoni. Together, Lee – who’s known for his performance in the 2019 production of Turandot and Son who reprised the role of the Madama in Madam Butterfly in 2019 – will bring the house down, showcasing their incredible talent, professional poise and let’s not forget, Lee’s innate ability to make weak the knees with his renowned abilities. Have a watch of his performance in Tosca by OA in 2012. Whether you’re new to opera or as ingrained as the Sydney Opera House itself, Lee and Son are two favourites that make a visit to the Joan Sutherland Theatre that much more worth it. Otello will be on at the Sydney Opera House from 19 February to 19 March 2022. For information, times and tickets, head to the Opera Australia website.
Hear the greatest opera arias in 90 mins at Sydney Opera House
Described as the ‘best of opera without the boring bits’, Opera Australia is putting on a 90-minute show that’s jam-packed with tunes that most people will be familiar with and not realise! The opera masterpieces are famous around the world, not just the soundtrack from a commercial and come from a completely different time by some of the greatest musical minds in history. Performed by an all star operatic cast, they’ll perform tunes that the audience will no doubt recognise from car and pasta adverts, along with films such as Pretty Woman and Star Trek. On now until 3 March 2021, the performances go for 90 minutes for $69 for adults (fees may apply). Concession prices available. Opera Australia Box Office (02) 9318 8200 www.opera.org.au
Opera Australia is going fully digital for their premieres
It was back in 2018 that Opera Australia first introduced their new digital screens in Aida. They fly around the stage, producing incredible images of stage props, striking colours and engaging projections that singers, the choir and stage actors move around seamlessly like they’re barely there. Here’s a refresher: Pegged as the opera of the future, Opera Australia is bringing them back again, only this time, instead of limiting it to one production, they’re turning them out for all of them. They’re the first company in the world to present a fully digital season of three brand new productions when it opens its Sydney Winter Season on 28 June 2019 in Sydney. Starring at the world renowned Sydney Opera House, Madama Butterfly – perfectly timed too, given its last production by Moffat Oxenbould wound-up last year – Anna Bolena and Whiteley will benefit for the digital treatment, no doubt wowing everyone who’s there to see it. They work thanks to fourteen, 7-metre high suspended LED screens that are choreographed to move seamlessly around the stage, creating a visual landscape that needs to be seen to be believed, and taking opera to a whole new level. See more and get tickets to the productions at the Opera Australia website.
Opera for One: The new initiative for opera lovers who go it alone
If you love opera, but your friends just don’t get it, then never fear: your days of going to the opera to see the wowing productions of Opera Australia are over. OA are introducing ‘Opera for One’, a new initiative for people who’ve for too long, enjoyed the dazzling highs of Carmen and the heart-wrenching plights of La Traviata by themselves. For the upcoming autumn season of opera in Melbourne, Australia, OA found that the number one reason people do not attend the opera is because they have no one to go with. One in five people said they had not yet seen a performance because they were unwilling to go on their own. Opera for One, the incredible new initiative by Australia’s largest opera production company aims to bring together solo attendees so they have someone to enjoy the show with and chat to during those awkward moments pre-show, during interval and that all-important post show critique. How it works is simple: If you’ve bought an Opera for One ticket, you’ll be invited to complimentary drinks and canapès an hour before the performance to meet other solo guests in a welcoming and relaxed environment. The group will be treated to a pre-performance talk by a member of the OA creative team before all being seated together for the show. The upcoming opera season in Melbourne includes these shows, which you can more easily visit alone now, if you’ve always wanted to, or just if you prefer it that way! RIGOLETTO State Theatre, Arts Centre… Read More