Opera

This image released by the Washington National Opera shows a set rendering by Wilson Chin showing one of his designs for a new production of Giacomo Puccini's "Turandot" opening May 11 at the Washington National Opera. (Wilson Chin/Washington National Opera via AP)

Washington Opera offers new ending to Puccini’s final work

Ever since Giacomo Puccini died in 1924 without finishing his last opera, “Turandot,” audiences have thrilled to its soaring melodies like “Nessun Dorma,” but also perhaps lamented the lack of a proper ending.

This image released by the Metropolitan Opera shows conductors Speranza Scappucci, from left, Marin Alsop and Oksana Lyniv at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York in April 2024. (Muriel Steinke/Metropolitan Opera via AP)

Met Opera hosts 4 female conductors in landmark week. From its founding to 2016, there were only 4

In this image provided by the Met Opera, Soprano Lise Davidsen as Leonora in a new production of Verdi's "La Forza del Destino" opening Feb. 26 at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. (Karen Almond/Met Opera via AP)

Verdi’s opera ‘Forza del Destino’ gets its first new production at the Met in nearly 30 years

Spectators gathering in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II watch on a screen Giuseppe Verdi's opera 'Don Carlo' at the Milan La Scala theater, Italy, Thursday Dec. 7, 2023. The season-opener Thursday, held each year on the Milan feast day St. Ambrose, is considered one of the highlights of the European cultural calendar. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

La Scala’s gala premiere of ‘Don Carlo’ celebrates Italian opera’s new status as cultural treasure

This image released by the Washington National Opera shows a scene from "Grounded," an opera about a female fighter pilot who is reassigned to direct unmanned drone attacks on terrorists thousands of miles away. The opera is having its world premiere at the Washington National Opera. (Scott Suchman/Washington National Opera via AP)

‘Grounded,’ a new opera about a female fighter pilot turned drone operator, prepares to take off

ShowBiz Minute: Grace Bumbry, Writers’ strike, Eurovision

Grace Bumbry, 1st Black singer at Bayreuth, dies at 86; Biden calls for ‘fair deal’ for striking Hollywood writers; Eurovision Song Contest kicks off with first semi-final in Liverpool. (May 9)

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New York City musicians celebrate International Women’s Day

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Opera superfan’s estate donates $215,000 to foundation for singers

The estate of an opera fanatic known for collecting autographs backstage at the Metropolitan Opera has donated $215,000 to the George and Nora London Foundation for Singers.

This image released by the Metropolitan Opera shows Ryan McKinny as Joseph De Rocher, left, and Joyce DiDonato as Sister Helen Prejean in Jake Heggie's "Dead Man Walking," which opens the Metropolitan Opera season on Sept. 26. (Karen Almond/Met Opera via AP)

In break with the past, Met opera is devoting a third of its productions to recent work

The Metropolitan Opera is broadening its repertoire this season by performing more recent operas alongside classics like “La Boheme.”

Met Opera, Lincoln Center Theater commission work about detained Ukrainian children

A Ukrainian composer has been commissioned to write an opera about mothers from that country going into Russia to rescue their forcibly detained children.

This image released by the Bavarian State Opera shows tenor Brian Jagde, center left, and soprano Elena Stikhina, center right, during a rehearsal of Damiano Michieletto’s 2023 staging of Verdi’s “Aida” at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, Germany. (Wilfried Hösl/Bavarian State Opera via AP)

Opera world split as director reinventions dominate Europe while US, Italy more muted

The opera world is split in two: Some European productions reinvent works in ways composers never imagined, and traditional stagings favored in the U.S. are condemned by cognoscenti.

This image provided by the Salzburg Festival shows mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli as Orfeo in a rehearsal of Christof Loy's production of Gluck's "Orfeo ed Eurydice" at the Salzburg Festival. (Monika Rittershaus/Salzburg Festival via AP)

Cecilia Bartoli veers into opera management while still singing at 57

Still singing at age 57, mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli has branched into opera management. She succeeded Riccardo Muti as artistic director of the Salzburg Whitsun Festival in 2012 and in January became director of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo.

Italian soprano Anna Pirozzi portrayed as Turandot poses for a backstage portrait before a performance of Giacomo Puccini's opera at the Teatro Real opera house in Madrid, Spain, Friday, July 14, 2023. For the past eight years, Madrid’s Teatro Real opera house has held a week of opera broadcasting shows that have been staged in the theater to towns and cities around Spain for free. The aim is to try to spread interest in the art form among the public and rid it off its elitist tag. This July, the highlight was Giacomo Puccini’s masterpiece, Turandot. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Opera for the public: Spain’s Teatro Real opera house offers free broadcast to towns and cities

MADRID (AP) — On a night in the middle of July, tenors, sopranos and a choir delighted the crowd in Madrid’s luxurious Teatro Real opera house with Giacomo Puccini’s masterpiece, “Turandot.”

The red carpet is fixed in front of the Festspielhaus for the opening of the Bayreuth Richard Wagner Festival in Bayreuth, Germany, Tuesday July 25, 2023. (Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa via AP)

Bayreuth Festival plans to present Wagner’s ‘Rienzi’ for the first time in 2026

The Bayreuth Festival intends to present “Rienzi” for the first time in 2026 for its 150th anniversary, going outside of the canon of Richard Wagner’s final 10 operas for the first time.

Spectators watch a performance of "Madame Butterfly" at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus in Athens, as on the background is seen the ancient temples of goddess Nike, left, and the Parthenon on Thursday, June 1, 2023. The annual arts festival in Athens and at the ancient theater of Epidaurus in southern Greece is dedicated this year to the late opera great Maria Callas who was born 100 years ago. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Festival at Greece’s ancient theaters dedicated to Maria Callas and century since her birth

Greece has launched its main summer theater and arts festival, dedicated this year to opera great Maria Callas who was born 100 years ago.

This image released by the Metropolitan Opera shows Bass Günther Groissböck, center, performing as Telramund during a dress rehearsal of director François Girard's production of Wagner's "Lohengrin" at the Metropolitan Opera on Feb. 18, 2023. (Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera via AP)

Met Opera scraps set from Russia, builds own for `Lohengrin’

At a cost of more than $1 million, the Metropolitan Opera has built duplicate sets for Francois Girard’s upcoming staging of “Lohengrin” instead of using the Russian set.

FILE - Composer Terence Blanchard appears at the premiere of the film "The Woman King" during the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 9, 2022, in Toronto. Blanchard, the first Black composer whose work has been heard at the Metropolitan Opera, will be given a yearlong celebration at Lincoln Center starting in March. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

Terence Blanchard gets yearlong Lincoln Center celebration

Terence Blanchard will be given a yearlong celebration at Lincoln Center starting in March. He is the first Black composer whose work has been heard at the Metropolitan Opera.

This image provided by Met Opera shows Sonya Yoncheva as Fedora, left, and Piotr Beczala as Loris Ipanoff in Giordano's "Fedora." (Ken Howard/Met Opera via AP)

At top of opera, Yoncheva worries about classical music

Sonya Yoncheva worries about classical music. The 41-year-old soprano at the top of her profession told The Associated Press that her own children don’t really associate with classical music artists.

This image released by The Metropolitan Opera shows soprano Renée Fleming during a performance of Kevin Puts' "The Hours." (Evan Zimmerman/The Metropolitan Opera via AP)

A ‘downtown’ choreographer brings her craft to the opera

You could call choreographer Annie-B Parson a “downtown” choreographer. She’s known for her work on David Byrne’s “American Utopia” and as co-founder of Big Dance Theater, based in Brooklyn.

This image released by the Metropolitan Opera shows Benjamin Bernheim as the Duke in Verdi's "Rigoletto" at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. (Curtis Brown/Met Opera via AP)

French tenor belatedly, triumphantly makes his Met debut

NEW YORK (AP) — Fresh off a triumphant debut, French tenor Benjamin Bernheim seems likely to become a familiar presence at the Metropolitan Opera.

This image released by The Publicity Office shows Ben Crawford during a performance of "The Phantom of the Opera," in New York. (Matthew Murphy/The Publicity Office via AP)

‘The Phantom of the Opera’ extends its long Broadway goodbye

The masked man of Broadway is going out strong. “The Phantom of the Opera” — Broadway’s longest-running show — has postponed its final performance by eight weeks, pushing its closing curtain from February to April after at spike in ticket demand.

La Scala general manager Dominique Meyer during a press conference in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022. Italy’s premier opera house, Teatro alla Scala, has defended its decision to stage the Russian opera “Boris Godunov’’ for its gala Dec. 7 season opener against protests by the Ukrainian officials in Italy who insists that highlighting Russian culture during its invasion of Ukraine sends the wrong message. La Scala's general manager, Dominique Meyer, said the opera was chosen three years ago and it “contains no propaganda for the Russian government.”(Ermes Beltrami/LaPresse via AP)

La Scala says Russian opera is not propaganda for Putin

Italy’s premier opera house has defended its decision to stage the Russian opera “Boris Godunov’’ for its gala Dec. 7 season opener.

This combination of images released by The Metropolitan Opera shows mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, left, soprano Kelli O’Hara, center, and soprano Renée Fleming in separate scenes during a performance of Kevin Puts' "The Hours." (Evan Zimmerman/The Metropolitan Opera via AP)

After fine-tuning, ‘The Hours’ with Fleming opens at the Met

NEW YORK (AP) — Kevin Puts’ “The Hours” has had more than a few hours of changes since it was first heard in a pair of concert performances in Philadelphia last March.

Noseda extends for 3 years with Zurich Opera through 2027-28

Zurich Opera music director Gianandrea Noseda has agreed to a three-year contract extension through the 2027-28 season.

Ukraine orchestra’s leader debuts at Met with Russian opera

It’s been quite a year for conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson. She formed the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra from scratch and led it on a 12-city tour.

FILE - David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center appears closed during COVID-19 lockdown in New York on May 12, 2020. The Metropolitan Opera, New York Philharmonic and Carnegie Hall are dropping their audience mask requirement starting Oct. 24, ending policies in place since they reopened last year. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

Met Opera, NY Philharmonic, Carnegie Hall drop mask mandate

The Metropolitan Opera, New York Philharmonic and Carnegie Hall are dropping their audience mask requirement starting Oct. 24, ending policies in place since they reopened last year.

This image released by Disney shows Reese Witherspoon, left, and Storm Reid in a scene from the film "A Wrinkle In Time." The classic sci-fi coming-of-age tale, has been adapted into a film, a TV movie, opera, several plays and a graphic novel. Now a stage musical is planned with music and lyrics by composer Heather Christian, a story by Lauren Yee and direction by Lee Sunday Evans. Dates for future productions, as well as additional creative team members and cast, will be announced in 2023. (Atsushi Nishijima/Disney via AP)

Team picked to make ‘A Wrinkle in Time’ into stage musical

“A Wrinkle in Time,” the classic sci-fi coming-of-age tale, has been adapted into a film, a TV movie, opera, several plays and a graphic novel.

Opera singer Ilya Silchukou sits for a photograph at a park in a suburb of Boston, Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022. Silchukou was a cultural icon in his native Belarus, the lead soloist at the State Opera Bolshoi who represented his nation at official government functions at home and abroad and performed at opera houses all over Europe. He lived a privileged and comfortable life in his homeland, but gave it up after joining tens of thousands of Belarusians at election protests that were violently suppressed by the Lukashenko government. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Singer driven from Belarus for speaking out tries to rebuild

A Belarusian opera singer who almost lost it all for publicly opposing his nation’s authoritarian leader is rebuilding his life in the U.S.

This image released by The Metropolitan Opera shows soprano Sondra Radvanovsky in the title role of Cherubini's "Medea," which opens the Metropolitan Opera season on Sept. 27. (Marty Sohl/Met Opera via AP)

Met Opera starts streaming of live performances to homes

The Metropolitan Opera is expanding its live telecasts to direct-to-home streaming in areas that don’t have movie theater transmissions, among them Brazil and Italy.

This image released by Opera Philadelphia shows, from left, tenor Toffer Mihalka, tenor Lawrence Brownlee and bass-baritone Christian Pursell during a performance of "Otello." (Steven Pisano/Opera Philadelphia via AP)

`Otello,’ Rossini’s not Verdi’s, staged in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Rossini’s “Otello” premiered in 1816, and the musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s famous play was a hit for seven decades.

This image released by The Metropolitan Opera shows soprano Sondra Radvanovsky in the title role of Cherubini's "Medea," which opens the Metropolitan Opera season on Sept. 27. (Marty Sohl/Met Opera via AP)

Met Opera to open season with dark, murderous ‘Medea’

NEW YORK (AP) — The first time Sondra Radvanovsky opened the Metropolitan Opera season, she played a mother who contemplates murdering her two young sons as revenge against her faithless lover.

FILE - A poster advertising "The Phantom of the Opera," is displayed on the shuttered Majestic Theatre in New York, March 12, 2020. Broadway's longest-running show will play its final performance on Broadway on Feb. 18, 2023, a spokesperson told The Associated Press on Friday, Sept. 16, 2022. The closing will come less than a month after its 35th anniversary. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)

‘The Phantom of the Opera’ to close on Broadway next year

“The Phantom of the Opera” — Broadway’s longest-running show — is scheduled to close in February 2023, a victim of post-pandemic softening in theater attendance in New York.

Soprano Amina Edris, left, and bass-baritone Gerald Finley as the title characters in an early rehearsal of John Adams' "Antony and Cleopatra," premiering Sept. 10 at the San Francisco Opera. (Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera via AP)

John Adams sets Shakespeare’s play about love and politics

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — When composer John Adams decided to base his new work on Shakespeare’s “Antony and Cleopatra,” he was aware that the project might evoke an unhappy chapter in opera history.

FILE - Spanish tenor Placido Domingo gives an interview in Naples, Aug. 23, 2020. An Argentina-based yoga group is under investigation for sexually exploiting women to secure the support of wealthy and powerful men around the world, including the opera star Domingo, who hasn’t been accused of any crime. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca, File)

Yoga sect allegedly exploited women to lure men like Domingo

BUENOS AIRES (AP) — An Argentina-based yoga group sexually exploited vulnerable women it called “geishas” to get money and influence from wealthy and powerful men around the world, including opera star Placido Domingo, who knew the organization’s leaders for more than two decades, according to inter

FILE - Opera tenor Placido Domingo attends an awards ceremony in the Royal Theatre in Madrid, Spain, June 10, 2021. Domingo's name has appeared in an investigation of a sect-like organization in Argentina whose leaders have been charged with crimes including sexual exploitation. Domingo has not been accused of any wrongdoing. “Placido didn’t commit a crime, nor is he part of the organization, but rather he was a consumer of prostitution,” said a law enforcement official who spoke of condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing. Prostitution is not illegal in Argentina. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, File)

Placido Domingo’s name comes up in Argentina sex sect probe

Opera star Placido Domingo’s name has appeared in an investigation of a sect-like group in Argentina that also had U.S. offices and whose leaders have been charged with numerous crimes, including sexual exploitation.

This image provided by Tapestry Opera shows Lauren Pearl climbing a wall as she performs the role of Louise in "Gould's Wall." (Dahlia Katz/Tapestry Opera via AP)

New opera has soprano scaling the heights -- literally

Lauren Pearl is giving new meaning to the term high-flying soprano. Sure, her latest venture calls for her to sing up to a high C, but plenty of operatic heroines do that.

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