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Joyce DiDonato : Master Class at Carnegie Hall

"Besides talent, what does it take to be a successful opera singer?" asked the aspiring artist right next to me to Joyce DiDonato on the last day of her masterclass at Carnegie Hall on this freezing cold 23rd of February. DiDonato answered: “Be curious. Ask your teachers: what was life in the 17th century? How did Handel understand women so well?”. Watching her master class is a fascinating way to understand what opera singers have to go through before bringing an...

Published onthe 06 of March
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Jonas Kaufmann renounces to Cavalleria Rusticana at La Scala

Each season or so in the biggest opera houses’ program, Jonas Kaufmann is nowadays one of the major performers of the lyrical scenes, able to fulfil entire auditoriums only based on his name, reaching a point that artistic directors wrest his commitments sometimes years in advance. This datebook can however turn out to be heavy, physically and vocally – the tenor highlighted recently on BBC that if “an agenda full for the coming five years proves to be financially...

Published onthe 05 of March
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Anja Harteros : Aida young at last

Linked for a long time to Wagner's repertoire, Anja Harteros  is nowadays obviously more dedicated to Verdi's one. Next friday, she embodies Aida at the Accademia Santa Cecilia in Roma, alongside Jonas Kaufmann and Ludovic Tezier. After referring to the work a few days ago, we now look at the role-title singer. *** Are divas condemned to live on an aeroplane between two triumphant appearances? They have been roundly criticised, perhaps...

Published onthe 25 of February
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Aida, an Underrated Masterpiece

On 27 February, the Saint Cecilia Academy of Rome will be used as the setting for a concert version of Aida, the Verdi opera, interpreted in particular by Anja Harteros, Jonas Kaufmann and Ludovic Tezier in the principal roles, under the baton of Antonio Pappano directing the Santa Cecilia Orchestra and Chorus. An “ideal cast” for one of the most popular operas, which we often think we are familiar with but which contains deeper subtleties than we sometimes imagine. We shall...

Published onthe 22 of February
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Opéra de Paris : the first (real) season of Stéphane Lissner

Everyone had high hopes when Stéphane Lissner took over at the helm of the Paris Opera:and they haven’t been disappointed!Since serious budget constraints have impacted this theatre’s budget, it is difficult to understand how this tireless man can offer the public such an appealing season with so many performances, so jammed with new productions, so inventive in terms of theatrical renewal, so seductive with their combined great voices! But if we start with the...

Published onthe 06 of February
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Andrea Chénier, a Poet in the Midst of Revolutionary Turmoil

With Andrea Chénier, Umberto Giordano turned an iconic poet of the French Revolution into one of the legendary roles of Italian opera. “Give me a good libretto and I’ll take personal responsibility for the success of the music.” Giordano addressed that enthusiastic request to Luigi Illica, Giacomo Puccini’s usual collaborator. After a promising start that was followed by three successive failures, the young composer staked everything on the work. ...

Published onthe 28 of January